For Release: Monday, April 25, 2005

DEC Issues Updated Draft Unit Management Plan for Wilmington Wild Forest

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Acting Commissioner Denise M. Sheehan today announced the release of an updated draft of the Wilmington Wild Forest unit management plan (UMP). The unit consists of 14,000 acres of State forest preserve lands in Towns of Wilmington, Jay and Keene in Essex County and the Town of Black Brook in Clinton County. The Department revised the original draft UMP to include a proposal to construct a 4.5 mile snowmobile trail on forest preserve lands.

"While we continue to make progress on completing unit management plans in the Adirondack Forest Preserve, we are committed to developing quality plans," Commissioner Sheehan said. "Public comments on the first draft of the Wilmington Wild Forest UMP resulted in the Department proposing a new snowmobile trail and warranted additional public review prior to finalizing the plan."

A public meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on May 12, 2005, at the Base Lodge at the Whiteface Mountain Ski Center in Wilmington. The meeting will provide the public with an opportunity to learn more on the proposed management actions in the draft UMP and provide comment. The DEC will also accept written comments on the draft UMP until May 31, 2005.

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 the 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 adjacent to portions of the wild forest.

While the only new proposed management action is constructing the snowmobile trail, the second draft UMP also retains all of the proposed management actions from the initial draft of the UMP including:

Continuing maintenance on approximately 1 mile of snowmobile trail; designating an additional 4.5 miles of snowmobile trail in the unit; closing approximately 5.0 miles of existing Cooper Kill Snowmobile Trail;
Establishing a 7-mile hiking trail system through the use of existing trails, relocation of substandard trails, and creation of new trails;
Posting various informational signs;
Establishing approximately 13 miles of mountain bike trails using existing roads that have been closed to motor vehicles, as well as existing herd paths and constructing new environmentally sound trails;
Constructing and/or improving 13 parking areas in order to provide safe parking and meet current and future access needs;
Closing one designated primitive campsite and establishing two new designated primitive campsites; and
Replacing and relocating the Cooper Kill lean-to so that it will conform with setback requirements.

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.

UMPs are required by the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan for each unit of State land in the Adirondack Park. The plans integrate the goals and objectives of the Master Plan, related legislation, and resource and visitor-use information into a single document.

Governor George Pataki's strategic plan to complete unit management plans for all State Forest Preserve lands in the Adirondack and Catskill Parks is continuing. Governor Pataki's initiative is the first comprehensive attempt to complete all outstanding management plans in both the Adirondack and Catskill parks to ensure that the public's longstanding investment in the acquisition of public lands is maximized through careful planning and implementation of those plans. This, coupled with allocation of funds to the stewardship of these lands from the State's Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) and the Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act, will dramatically improve the State's ability to manage these lands.

The draft UMP is available for public review at 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 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 as well from the DEC Ray Brook office.

To provide written comments on the draft plan, mail them by May 31, 2005 to: Stewart Brown, Senior Forester, NYSDEC, P.O. Box 220, Warrensburg, NY 12885.

05-41