The Wolf Pond Trail and the Wolf Pond Lean-to are located in the central Adirondack town of North Hudson in Essex County.
Hikers and campers may access the 2.3-mile Wolf Pond Trail from Boreas River/Wolf Pond Parking Area on the Blue Ridge Road near the bridge over the Boreas River. » Continue Reading.
250 acres of the south face of Moxham Mountain have been protected by private sale to the Adirondack Land Trust. There is no recreational access presently. The Land Trust and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation are working to transfer the land to the Adirondack Forest Preserve, at which time it will become public.
Moxham Mountain is located between Minerva and North Creek and is part of the Vanderwhacker Wild Forest. It’s lofty cliffs have been eyed by climbers, although no public access to the face of Moxham was possible.
The High Peaks Wilderness Complex and the Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest Unit Management Plan (UMP) Amendments are final and implementation of the management actions described in the two amendments has begun according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
Currently group size regulations for all of the High Peaks Wilderness, including the former Dix Mountain Wilderness lands, are in effect, limiting day use groups (hikers) to no more than 15 people and overnight use groups (campers) to no more than 8 people. Parking areas along Route 73 have been striped and parking rules are now being enforced there. » Continue Reading.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced a third public meeting seeking public comment on the High Peaks Wilderness Complex and the Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest Draft Unit Management Plan Amendments has been scheduled.
The meeting is scheduled for June 21, at 6 pm in the Lussi Ballroom of the Olympic Conference Center, 2364 Main Street, Lake Placid. The meeting will provide the public another opportunity to learn more about the proposed management actions in the Draft UMP Amendments and comment on the proposals. The meeting facilities are wheelchair accessible. Provide any requests for specific accommodations to (518) 897-1361 at least one week in advance of the meetings. » Continue Reading.
I’d like to recognize the Adirondack Daily Enterprise for its recent editorial “APA, DEC Skimp on Public Meetings.” The newspaper wrote that two public meetings, both held on the same day (Wednesday, May 23) about numerous management amendments to the High Peaks Wilderness and Vanderwhacker Wild Forest:
“while important, are also severely wanting. These lands belong to the people of New York, and folks near New York City, in Syracuse and Buffalo, Watertown and Ithaca all deserve to have APA and DEC staff come explain what the plans mean and hear the public’s concerns. Together, the two UMP amendments run to more than 300 pages, and it would be beneficial to the public to have them explained by the people who wrote them.”
Now that the classifications are decided and amendments to the unit management plans (UMP) are underway, the process seems highly accelerated and rushed. » Continue Reading.
The High Peaks Wilderness Complex and the Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest Draft Unit Management Plan Amendments have been released and public input is sought by June 27th.
Two public meetings will be held; on May 23, 2018, at 10 am at DEC Headquarters, 625 Broadway, in Albany; and the same day at 6 pm at Newcomb Central School, 5535 State Route 28N, in Newcomb.
The meetings will provide the public with an opportunity to learn more about the proposed management actions and comment on the proposals. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) will hold its monthly meeting at its headquarters in Ray Brook, NY on Thursday, May 10th, 2018.
The meeting will include discussion on the Vanderwhacker Wild Forest and the High Peaks Wilderness Unit Management Plans (UMPs), proposed amendments to the Gore Mountain Intensive Use Ski Area UMP, an Arbor Day tree dedication, a presentation on the Lake Champlain Basin Program, and discuss proposed enhancements for the Ski Bowl Village located in the Town of Johnsburg. What follows is the agenda issued by the APA: » Continue Reading.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is planning to amend its management plans for nearly 100,000 acres of Forest Preserve in the Adirondack Park, including the High Peaks Wilderness Complex and the Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest.
A public meeting is planned for April 3rd; written public comments are due by April 20th. DEC’s Commissioner told that press he hoped the construction of new recreation facilities could start this summer.
The Adirondack Park Agency has announced that it has deemed DEC’s application complete for the Frontier Town Campground, Equestrian and Day Use Area along the Schroon River in North Hudson. State and local officials have been touting the proposed facility as a “Gateway to the Adirondacks.”
The plan proposes an accessible public campground at the site of the former Frontier Town theme park. The campground would include RV, tent, and equestrian camp sites and facilities, and trails connecting to the snowmobile trails leading to Schroon Lake and Ticonderoga, and a new trail to Newcomb being proposed in the yet unapproved Boreas Ponds Tract Management Plan. The campground is part of the Upper Hudson Recreation Hub Master Plan.
Some 25 more out-of-service oil tanker railcars were brought through North River, alongside the Hudson River in the Town of Johnsburg, Warren County en route to little used railroad track in Essex County Monday evening. This is the second shipment of out-of-service oil tanker cars delivered to the Adirondack Park. More than 50 tankers have arrived, some parked across ‘forever wild” Adirondack Forest Preserve land. The cars are being brought for indefinite storage by Iowa Pacific Holdings.
Despite strongly worded statements of opposition to this activity by Governor Andrew Cuomo, neither the Adirondack Park Agency nor Department of Environmental Conservation have acted. » Continue Reading.
A draft amendment to the Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest Unit Management Plan and a draft Unit Management Plan for the Horicon Boat Launch (known popularly as the Schroon Lake Boat Launch) are now available for public review and comment.
Both the draft UMP for the Horicon Boat Launch and the draft UMP amendment for the Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest contain proposed management actions that are located within the Schroon Recreational River Area. Pursuant to Part 666 of Title 6 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York -also known as the Wild, Scenic and Recreational Rivers regulations – a public hearing is required. » Continue Reading.
Note: This article is the second of three that looks at the widespread violations of public process, state policies, and state laws in the recent approval of the Essex Chain Plan. Part one can be found here.
One of the most controversial elements of the Essex Chain Complex Unit Management Plan (Essex Chain Plan), approved last week by the Adirondack Park Agency (APA), is the proposal to cut a new five-mile snowmobile trail through the western part of the Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest area, east of the Hudson River. This new snowmobile trail will retain and use the Polaris Bridge and is designed to connect the communities of Indian Lake and Minerva with a major new snowmobile trail, despite the fact that these communities are already connected with a major snowmobile trail.
The Adirondack Park Agency board voted 8-2 Friday to approve a management plan for the Essex Chain Lakes region that one of the dissenters denounced for its “legal fiction.”
One of the major controversies is over the decision to retain an iron bridge over the Hudson River for use as a future snowmobile trail.
The Hudson in that area is classified as a Scenic River, a designation that normally precludes motorized uses and large bridges. The state Department of Environmental Conservation, however, contends that motorized use over the river predated the law and thus can continue.
The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) is accepting public comments on how their Essex Chain Lakes Complex Plan conforms to the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan. The comment period will conclude on October 16, 2015.
The plan addresses the continued development of controversial bicycling and snowmobiling projects, including the construction of a bridge over the Cedar River continued maintenance of the Polaris (Iron) Bridge over the Hudson River, and the construction of a new snowmobile trail between Indian Lake and Minerva. » Continue Reading.
After 10 years of planning, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has approved the Adirondack Park Trail Plan for the North Country National Scenic Trail (NC-NST), effective October 10.
The plan routes the projected 4,600-mile National Scenic Trail through the middle of the Adirondack Park. The NC-NST traverses the northern tier of the United States between Crown Point State Historic Site on Lake Champlain and Lake Sakakawea State Park on the Missouri River in North Dakota. About 2,700 miles of the trail have been completed so far. Within the Adirondack Park, the trail is expected to be about 158 miles long when complete, between Forestport in Oneida County and Crown Point. » Continue Reading.
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