Your Adirondack Forest Preserve threatened with destructive motorized use
Protect the Adirondacks has decided to make an all out effort to oppose an amendment to the Jessup River Wild Forest Plan because it would increase the use of snowmobiles in a major way and begins what is essentially a road building program in our Forever Wild Forest Preserve. Please send comments in opposition to the Jessup River Wild Forest amendment to the APA and other officials, stating your very strong objections to the Plan by sending the emails below.If the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) approves the amendment, in disregard of the State Constitution’s ban on unnecessary tree cutting and the mandates of the State Land Master Plan, it would allow the construction of snowmobile roads up to 12 feet wide and build many over-engineered new bridges through miles of the Jessup River Wild Forest. These will be the first approved segments of a park-wide network of snowmobile roads. Once built these roads will be used by all terrain vehicles (ATV’s), whether allowed officially or not.
The proposed roads will be built smooth and level enough to accommodate the two-ton snowmobile groomers necessary to harden snow into the connector highways desired by snowmobilers.
Excavators will carve out side-slopes through what should be protected landscapes. Ten-foot-wide bridges will be built to accommodate heavy groomers as well as up to three-ton excavators, allowing them to cross streams and wetlands. These roads will not have “essentially the same character as a foot trail” as required by the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan.
Our official comments on this issue, and background on snowmobile legal issues are at: https://www.protectadks.org/data/
By Monday, August 2, please cut and paste the following email to:
APA jcconnol@gw.dec.state.ny.us DEC rkdavies@gw.dec.state.ny.us
Gov. Patterson http://www.state.ny.us/governor/contact/GovernorContactForm.php
Assembly Leader Silver speaker@assembly.state.ny.us
Or send a letter to:
James Connolly, Deputy Dir. -Planning
Adirondack Park Agency
P.O. Box 99
Ray Brook, NY 12977
I oppose the Adirondack Park Agency’s approval of the unit management plan amendment that would permit the building of new snowmobile roads in the Jessup River Wild Forest Unit. If the amendment were approved, it would allow big, powerful machines to go roaring and racing through the forest preserve at high speeds. Carving up side-slopes with 3-ton excavators to accommodate large tracked groomers used for smoothing the snow surface is road construction, not trail-building, and violates the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan. The Jessup River Wild Forest UMP amendment would further degrade the wild character of lands the State is charged to protect on behalf of all New York citizens, and this destruction must not be allowed.
We cannot stop the State from adopting the Jessup River Wild Forest UMP amendment alone, and we call upon environmental groups and concerned citizens across the state to come to the aid of our Forever Wild Forest Preserve. We ask you to contact your local Senators and Assembly members by Monday, August 2, to help us stop this ill-conceived, illegal, and destructive snowmobile road building project on our “forever wild” forest preserve in the Adirondack Park.
