For Release: Friday, October 8, 2004

DEC Issues Draft Unit Management Plan for Split Rock Mountain Wild Forest

Public Meeting Scheduled for December 7, 2004, at the Westport Central School, Westport, Essex County

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Erin M. Crotty today announced the release of a draft unit management plan (UMP) for the Split Rock Wild Forest. The unit consists of 3,700 acres near Lake Champlain in the towns of Essex and Westport, Essex County. The planning unit consists of several geographical-linked areas within a ten mile radius of each other: Split Rock Mountain, including the Lake Champlain Palisades; Webb Royce Swamp; the Westport Boat Launch Site; and the Whallonsburg Fishing Access Site.

A public meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on December 7, 2004, at the Westport Central School. The meeting will provide the public with an opportunity to learn more on the proposed management actions detailed in the draft UMP and provide a public comment opportunity. DEC will also accept written comments on the draft UMP until January 10, 2005.

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.

Proposed management actions from the initial draft of the UMP include:

Designating approximately 9.0 miles of an existing trail system of former logging roads and trails for hiking. Hiking is popular on the presently designated snowmobile trail (1.7 miles) in the unit. Mountain biking will be allowed on approximately 5.0 miles of this established trail system;
Marking all designated trails in the unit;
Constructing three new accessible parking lots -- two on the Lake Shore Road and one on the Clark Road;
Installing and maintaining trail registers at all designated trails;
Developing an accessible parking lot at the Whallonsburg Fishing Access Site;
Continuing to allow snowmobile use on the 1.7-mile snowmobile trail from Lake Shore Road to Lewis Clearing Bay consistent with the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan requirements;
Closing the northernmost campsite on the shore of Lake Champlain (due to lack of a suitable location for a box privy); and
Continuing the use of the four primitive campsites along the shore of Lake Champlain as part of the Lake Champlain Paddlers Trail System.

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. Other unit management plans that have been adopted in the Adirondack Park include Black River Wild Forest, Bog River Flow Complex, Dix Mountain Wilderness, Five Ponds Wilderness, Giant Mountain Wilderness, High Peaks Wilderness, Pepperbox Wilderness, Pharaoh Lake Wilderness, Pigeon Lake Wilderness, and Santanoni Historic Area.

In September 1999, Governor Pataki announced a strategic plan to complete unit management plans for all forest preserve lands in the Adirondack and Catskill Parks. 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 unprecedented resources being devoted to the stewardship of these lands from the Environmental Protection Fund and the Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act, will dramatically improve the State's ability to manage these lands for public recreation.

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 Essex and Westport 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. A summary document is available at DEC's Unit Management Plan website.

To provide written comments on the draft plan, mail them to: Stewart Brown, Senior Forester, NYSDEC, P.O. Box 220, Warrensburg, NY 12885, or email comments to r5ump@gw.dec.state.ny.us. Public comments will be accepted until January 10, 2005.

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