Sable Highlands
Figure Eight Pond
In early 2005 the State reached agreement with The Nature Conservancy and The Lyme Timber Company to ensure the protection of 104,000 acres of Adirondack forestland formerly owned by Domtar Industries, Inc. in the "Sable Highlands" region of Clinton and Franklin counties.
Middle Kiln Area
The agreement represents the third largest land acquisition in State history. The Lyme Timber Company, a private timber investment company headquartered in Hanover, New Hampshire, has purchased 84,448 acres of forestland from Domtar Industries and will continue harvesting timber on the property. New York State will acquire a working forest conservation easement on these lands that will require sustainable forest management and timber harvesting, prohibit residential development and restrict subdivision, and create a balance of public recreational access and continued traditional private recreational leasing on the property.
East Chazy Tract
The Nature Conservancy purchased 19,960 acres of the remaining Domtar property, which it will hold for ultimate transfer to the State. Of these lands, 16,918 acres will be added to the State Forest Preserve including Lyon Mountain and its fire tower, the highest peak in the northern region of the Park, and a portion of Ellenberg Mountain.
Norton Range
The remaining 3,042 acres, located in the Town of Dannemora, will become State Forest land. Local property taxes will continue to be paid on all of the properties.
Top of Lyon Mountain
The agreement provides full public recreation rights to more than 47,000 acres of lands and waters that are not under private lease agreement and have not previously been open to the public. Public recreational opportunities will include hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling.
Owls Head Lookout
Partial public recreation rights, including opening more than 44 miles of recreational corridors for public motorized access, will be acquired on more than 56,000 acres of Lyme Timber's lands that are currently leased to private hunting clubs. The agreement also permanently secures public hiking trails on Lyon Mountain, Owls Head, and the Norton Range. Lyme Timber is retaining the right to maintain private recreational leases, and no hunting clubs on Lyme Timber's land will be eliminated.
Wetland on Lyon Mountain
Since 2000, Domtar's lands have been enrolled in the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) forest certification program, an independent entity that certifies adherence to a comprehensive set of sustainable forestry requirements. The easement the State will acquire requires Lyme Timber to maintain FSC certification or another independently audited certification system, assuring that timber harvesting on the land is conducted in a sustainable and environmentally-sound manner. The agreement protects habitat for a wide array of mammals, such as moose, black bear, and pine marten, as well as forest nesting birds such as warblers and thrushes, and pristine streams that harbor native brook trout and other fish species. It also ensures the conservation of significant wetlands, high rocky summits, and extensive northern hardwood and spruce-fir ecosystems.
