Controversy with the APA

          In his talk last night, Peter Bauer brought up the issues presently occurring in the Essex Chain Lakes region regarding snowmobile trails. I found a few articles about the issue on the Adirondack Almanac, one written by Bauer, and another written by Phil Brown.  

The Adirondack Park Agency approved the plan for the Essex Chain Lakes, sparking controversy over the plan’s proposal to cut a new snowmobile trail through the western part of the Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest area. The trail would use the Polaris Bridge and connect the Indian Lake and Minerva communities. However, as Bauer mentioned in his talk, these communities are actually already connected by a snowmobile trail. In 2009, the APA and DEC approved a Snowmobile Guidance plan that documented the details by which snowmobile trails in the park should be managed. It clearly states that trail “redundancy” should be avoided and they should not be built in wild areas. Bauer points out that the Essex Chain Plan then violates the Snowmobile Guidance plan. The DEC argue that the longer mileage of this first trail is “not practical” and that creating this shorter route over the Polaris Bridge would be better, only 20 miles rather than 31. However, this route would involve cutting a new trail through five miles of the Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest Area. Snowmobile riders are used to riding 30 or so miles. Bauer says, “it makes no sense for a new snowmobile trail to be cut through a wild trail-less part of the Forest Preserve simply to provide a shorter connection”. He compared the idea to hiking to make his point. Hiking trails are not made for the shortest route from parking lot to mountaintop, but for minimal impacts on nature. In the same way, snowmobile trails should not be made for the shortest route possible, but the smallest environmental damage possible.

Another controversy regarding this plan that Phil Brown highlighted in his article was the decision to keep an iron bridge over the Hudson River as a snowmobile trail in the future. In the bridge area the Hudson is classified as a Scenic River. The State Land Master Plan outlines what can and cannot be done on each classification of river—wild, scenic, or recreational. Scenic rivers generally have fewer restrictions than wild rivers, but more than recreational ones. Usually, scenic rivers are prohibited from having motorized vehicles and large bridges visible from the water. Clearly having a large iron bridge with snowmobile use would violate this. However, the DEC claims that the use of motorized vehicles over the river on that bridge existed before the law did and thus it is allowed to continue.  Many argue that the DEC needs to amend the Rivers Act if they are going to make it legal.

            This is just an example of the many controversies that face the Adirondacks, and the conflicts that often arise between the APA and the locals. It’s unfortunate that nothing could be done about the unnecessary cutting of a new trail through wilderness area. It seems that often times economic interests seem to outweigh the environmental ones.

Sources:

http://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2015/11/apa-approves-controversial-essex-chain-plan.html

http://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2015/11/essex-chain-plan-violates-state-snowmobile-policy-plan.html#more-57092