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Lake George Wild Forest UMP

The Lake George Wild Forest consists of approximately 71,133 acres of State Forest Preserve lands in the southeastern Adirondacks in the towns of Bolton, Chester, Hague, Horicon, Lake George, Lake Luzerne, Queensbury and Warrensburg in Warren County and the towns of Dresden, Fort Ann, and Putnam in Washington County and is generally bounded on the north by the Warren County line, on the west by the Hudson River, and on the south and east by the Adirondack Park boundary. The Lake George Wild Forest contains miles of marked trails available to explore, allowing the public to easily access a variety of majestic natural attractions such as Black Mountain, Shelving Rock, and Prospect Mountain.

Recreationists also enjoy year-round activities on Lake George, and popular fishing and camping locations at Lily Pond, Jabe Pond, Gay Pond and Palmer Pond. The Lake George Wild Forest is a popular area for motorized recreational uses and ice fishing, and serves as an important link with the adjoining snowmobile trail network. In addition, the Hudson River Recreation Area of the Lake George Wild Forest enables the public to experience a unique flatwater environment and other recreation opportunities along this historic waterway.

Draft UMP (November 2006)

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation released the Draft Unit Management Plan (UMP) for the Lake George Wild Forest for public review and comment in November 2006.

The Department held a public meeting on Wednesday, December 13th at the Queensbury Center Meeting room at 742 Bay Road in the town of Queensbury, NY. The meeting allowed Department staff to present a slide show detailing some of the proposals in the Draft UMP and provided the public with an opportunity to comment on the Draft UMP.

The Draft UMP is available for public review at the DEC headquarters in Albany, DEC regional offices in Watertown and Ray Brook, and at the DEC's Northville, Warrensburg, Herkimer, Lowville, and Potsdam regional suboffices. The plan will be available for review at the town offices of Bolton, Chester, Hague, Horicon, Lake George, Lake Luzerne, Queensbury and Warrensburg in Warren County and the towns of Dresden, Fort Ann, and Putnam in Washington County.

The public comment period closed January 17, 2007.

Questions or comments can be emailed to: r5ump@gw.dec.state.ny.us

The Draft UMP:

An inventory of natural resources and man-made facilities; An inventory of actual and projected public use, and an assessment of the potential impacts of public use on natural resources and the public enjoyment of the area; An assessment of the physical, biological and social carrying capacity of the area; and A statement of management objectives to address the protection and rehabilitation of the area's natural resources, the control of public use, the removal of nonconforming uses, opportunities for additional recreational use and the need for new facilities.

A partial list of recommended management actions in the Draft UMP include:

  • Designating approximately 5.0 miles of existing hiking trails on the recently acquired Northwest Bay Tract and constructing a new foot trail to connect the property to the Clay Meadows trailhead on Rt. 9N;
  • Constructing two small (3-cars) parking lots on two parcels located in the town of Putnam and improving existing parking areas at Northwest Bay Tract and Palmer Pond;
  • Maintaining designated equestrian trails annually to protect resources, promote safety of equestrians and their horses;
  • Closing a few steep, lakeside trails to horse use to protect resources and promote safety of equestrians and their horses;
  • Improving access for people with disabilities by upgrading selected campsites, constructing new campsites, and constructing, maintaining and rehabilitating trails and roads;
  • Adopting regulations regarding camping and day-use in the Hudson River and Shelving Rock Special Management Areas;
  • Closing a few redundant snowmobile trails and designating two short snowmobile trails on the east side of Lake George; and
  • Re-routing a snowmobile trail in the area of Gay Pond in the Hudson River Special Management Area.

Entire Plan (15.2 Mb pdf - This file is very large and may take a long time to download or even cause some computers to crash)

Plan Parts:

Preface to Section VII (Special Management Area Plans) (1.01 mb pdf)

Section VII (Maps - Special Management Area Plans) (976 kb pdf)

Section VII (Map - Proposed Snowmobile Trail Reroute) (1.19 Mb pdf)

Section VII (Map - Motorized Access Program for People With Dissabilities Motor Vehicle Roads) (1.55 Mb pdf)

Section VII (Map - Proposed Eddy Mtn. Foot Trail) (1.25 Mb pdf)

Acronyms, Bibliography, and Appendices I-X) (225 kb pdf)

Maps:

Appendix II (Breeding Bird Atlas Map) (1.49 Mb pdf)

Existing Facility Map - May 2001 (667 kb pdf)

Existing Facility Map - March 2006 (754 kb pdf)

Potential Deer Yards Map (1.4 Mb pdf)

Wetlands Map (1.74 Mb pdf)

(2.93 Mb pdf)

LGWF Snowmobile Trails & Shelving Rock Trail System Maps (700 kb pdf)

If you have questions and/or comments about this UMP, please email us at: r5ump@gw.dec.state.ny.us