Environment DEC
From the October 2003 issue
Public Meetings to Discuss Adirondack Areas
DEC has scheduled two public meetings about the development of two Unit Management Plans (UMPs) for State Forest Preserve lands in the Adirondacks.
Taylor Pond Wild Forest
The Taylor Pond Wild Forest encompasses about 43,000 acres of state land in portions of 13 towns in 3 counties in the northeastern region of the Adirondack Park. The plan will also address the thousands of acres of conservation easement lands, and the 715-acre Wickham Marsh and 68-acre Pauline Murdoch Wildlife Management Areas.
A public information meeting for the Taylor Pond Wild Forest is scheduled for Wednesday, October 22, 2003, from 6 to 9 PM at the Jay Town Hall in Ausable Forks. This will be the first of many opportunities for the public to be involved in the planning process. The initial meeting will provide an opportunity for the public to meet with DEC staff and share ideas and suggest improvements related to the state lands within the unit.
The core of the Taylor Pond Wild Forest is located in the region around Taylor Pond, Silver Lake and Union Falls flow, in the Franklin County Town of Franklin and the Clinton County Town of Black Brook. Other parcels of the Wild Forest are located in the towns of Ausable, Peru, and Saranac in Clinton County, and the towns of Chesterfield, Elizabethtown, Essex, Jay, Lewis, St. Armand, Westport and Willsboro in Essex County.
The summits of Silver Lake, Poke-O-Moonshine and Catamount Mountains are the three most popular summit destinations for hikers in the Wild Forest. There is also extensive use of the campsites on Union and Franklin Falls flows. Other popular activities are hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, horseback riding, snowmobiling, skiing and snowshoeing. There are several camping areas in the unit and the rivers and ponds provide excellent boating and paddling opportunities.
A UMP for the Taylor Pond Wild Forest must be completed before new recreational facilities such as trails, tent sites and parking areas can be constructed. The planning process will involve an inventory of the natural resources of the area and an analysis of the ability of its lands and waters to accommodate public recreational use. The plan will culminate in a series of management actions to be implemented over a five-year period. Management issues under consideration by the DEC planning team include public recreational access and increasing trails and campsites.
If you or your organization would like to be included on a mailing list for information about the development of the unit management plan or if you wish to submit comments, please contact planning coordinator Daniel Levy at NYS DEC, P.O. Box 296, Ray Brook, NY 12977, by telephone at (518) 897-1276.
Wilmington Wild Forest
DEC has released the draft UMP for the Wilmington Wild Forest. The unit consists of 14,000 acres in towns of Wilmington and Keene in Essex County and the Town of Black Brook in Clinton County.
A public meeting will be held at 6 PM on Tuesday, October 21, 2003, at the Base Lodge at the Whiteface Mountain Ski Center in Wilmington. The meeting will provide the public with an opportunity to comment on the proposals in the draft UMP. DEC will also accept written comments on the draft UMP and has extended the deadline for written comments to November 15, 2003.
The core area of the Wilmington Wild Forest is located on the east-facing slopes of Whiteface Mountain between the Whiteface Mountain Ski Center, the Whiteface Veterans' Memorial Highway, Route 431 and Route 86. Another large segment--the Stephenson Range Tract--lies north of Route 431 and Gillespie Drive and south of the Forestdale Road. Smaller, isolated segments include Hamlin Mountain, Clements Mountain, and Beaver Brook Tracts, as well as a segment near the Hamlet of Black Brook.
The area offers numerous recreational opportunities, including hiking, camping, mountain biking, rock climbing, fishing and hunting in the warmer months, and cross-country skiing, ice climbing, trapping and snowmobiling in the winter months. The West Branch Ausable River--world renowned for trout fishing--runs next to portions of the Wild Forest.
A UMP must be completed before significant new recreational facilities, such as trails, lean-tos, or parking areas, can be constructed. The plan includes an analysis of the natural features of the area and the ability of the land to accommodate public use. The planning process is designed to cover all environmental considerations for the unit and forms the basis for all proposed management activities for a five-year time period.
The draft UMP is available for public review at DEC headquarters in Albany, DEC regional offices in Watertown and Ray Brook, and at DEC's Northville, Warrensburg, Herkimer, Lowville, and Potsdam regional suboffices. The plan will be available for review at the town offices of Wilmington, Keene and Black Brook and a limited number of printed copies will be available from the DEC Warrensburg suboffice as well. The plan is available in a CD format from the DEC Ray Brook Office. The complete Wilmington Wild Forest Draft Unit Management Plan is available on DEC's Unit Management Plan web site.
To provide written comments on the draft plan, mail them to: Stewart Brown, Senior Forester, NYS DEC, P.O. Box 220, Warrensburg, NY 12885.
