Mountain Biking in the State Land Master Plan

Source: wikimedia.org

The Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan (SLMP) allows biking on trails in Wild Forest and on roads in Primitive Areas, but doesn’t permit bikes in Wilderness. Under the aforementioned guidelines, bikes aren’t permitted in the Essex Chain Lakes, but the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) is considering amending the SLMP to allow bikes on ten miles of old dirt roads in the Primitive Area that could accommodate bikes without damaging any natural resources. Though the issue in question regards one specific area, mountain biking proponents are utilizing this discussion to argue that the SLMP should permit bikes on any old roads in Primitive Areas and Wilderness in the park. This discussion has lead to a lot of disagreement throughout the community. While extending mountain biking privileges in the Adirondack Park would likely increase tourism, I believe the negative implications of the proposed amendments far outweigh the positive effects.

            According to the SLMP, Wilderness is an area “where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man… [and] has outstanding opportunities for solitude,” (State Land Classification). In contrast, Wild Forest is defined as “an area where the resources permit a somewhat higher degree of human use than in wilderness areas, while retaining an essentially wild character,” (State Land Classification). When I think of mountain biking, I picture fast, energetic participants roaring through trees, which doesn’t align with the remoteness and solitude intended for Wilderness Areas. The main distinction between Wilderness and Wild Forest is the allowance of “a wide variety of recreational outdoor activities” in Wild Forest, while Wilderness only permits “primitive and unconfined” recreation like hiking, ski touring and hunting (State Land Classification). The allowance of biking in Wilderness would eliminate this differentiation. Primitive areas are between classifications of Wilderness and Wild Forest and often seen as areas that would be considered Wilderness if they didn’t have some “non-conforming structure” like a fire tower (Brown). For this reason, opponents of the Essex Chain Lakes proposal argue that Primitive Areas are similar enough to Wilderness that they should be subject to the same standards for recreation, therefore banning bikes.

             Many organizations have voiced opinions during the debate, such as the Barkeater Trails Alliance (BETA), which built 55 miles of biking trails in Wilmington, Lake Placid, and Saranac Lake (Brown). BETA wants to link all of the to create a long-distance network of trails between various communities. In order to do so, they need permission to create bike trails through the McKenzie Mountain Wilderness that sits between Lake Placid and Wilmington. BETA doesn’t believe the SLMP should allow mountain biking in all Wilderness, but thinks the APA should grant exceptions on a case-by-case basis. While their proposal is logical and doesn’t appear as a huge threat to Wilderness, it is a risky proposition. Once vague language enters the SLMP, it can be used to create a variety of loopholes. Both the Essex Chain Lakes proposal and the BETA proposal demonstrate how small changes in the SLMP lead to an influx of proposals to change the SLMP until it distorts the original mission. With 1.3 million acres of land for biking, I don’t think the potential benefits of any of the proposed amendments are worth risking the remaining 1.1 million acres of Wilderness in the Adirondack Park (Use Classification Acreage).

Works Cited:

Brown, Phil. "A Push For Forest Preserve Mountain Biking." The Adirondack   Almanack. The Adirondack Almanack, 23 Dec. 2014. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.

"Use Classification Acreage and Percent of County within the Adirondack Park.” Adirondack Park Land Use Area Statistics. Adirondack Park Agency, Aug. 2011. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.

“State Land Classification Definitions.” Adirondack Park Agency State Land Master         Definitions. Adirondack Park Agency, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.