The Adirondack Park Agency has completed a series of public hearings on amendments to the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan and is taking public comment.
The Park Agency must conduct major reviews of the management plan for state lands in the Adirondack Park every five years and amend it as needed. APA Director of Public Information Keith McKeever explained that the agency and the Department of Environmental Conservation worked together to draft proposed amendments to the plan.
“Proposals include addressing accessibility, climate change and visitor use management as well as a classification recommendation for land recently acquired by the state in the towns of Jay and Wilmington adjacent to the Beaver Brook Tract of the Wilmington Wild Forest,” McKeever said.
APA Deputy Director for Planning Megan Phillips says the updates to the Master Plan are intended to reflect the challenges, pressures and opportunities that affect state lands in the Adirondacks.
“By proactively addressing the impacts of climate change on the Park’s recreational infrastructure, the proposed amendments further align state land management with the Governor’s bold climate initiatives,” Phillips said. “The proposed amendments incorporate the visitor use management framework with the intent to provide high quality visitor experiences while protecting natural and cultural resources.”
Revisions include new language for visitor use management. APA Senior Environmental Attorney Kevin Prickett explained that the language in the master plan would be altered to help plan how many people can use resources before damage occurs.
“By using this framework, managers develop long-term strategies for providing access, connecting visitors to key experiences, protecting resources and managing visitor use,” Prickett outlined. “The decisions are informed by best available science, staff expertise and public input.”
During public comments Adirondack Mountain Club Interim Executive Director Julia Goren said they have concerns about the visitor use management proposals.
“A visitor use management process can only be considered to be a complete process when it includes ecological monitoring and indicators that assess the desired current and future conditions of the natural resources,” noted Goren. “Currently the Department of Environmental Conservation is undertaking an incomplete process by focusing only on the social dimensions of visitor use management.”
Protect the Adirondacks Deputy Director Claudia Braymer took issue with revisions in the mobility section, saying the language is too broad and risks the Master Plan’s ability to protect wilderness from motorized vehicles.
“People with disabilities have and should continue to have access to the Forest Preserve in a way that is consistent with the guidelines for management and use for each of the land classifications in the SLMP (State Land Master Plan)”, said Braymer. “APA must not amend the SLMP with the proposed language giving DEC unfettered discretion to fundamentally alter the nature of wilderness, primitive and canoe areas. Doing so would be a complete abrogation of APA’s duties to protect the natural resources of the Adirondack Park and has the potential to vastly expand the use of motor vehicles in the Forest Preserve.”
Public comments on the revisions are being accepted through December 2nd.
