The Peru Gazette

 Public Comments Accepted Through December 18, 2015 

Ray Brook, NY – The Adirondack Park Agency (APA or Agency), at its November board meeting, announced a public comment period for Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan conformance regarding proposals from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) to amend the 1996 Remsen – Lake Placid Travel Corridor Unit Management Plan (1996 Plan).  APA will accept Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan conformance comments until December 18, 2015.

In 2013, in response to requests from the public, the Commissioners of DEC and DOT initiated an extensive public process to determine if amendments were appropriate.  After a two-year process with substantial public input the Commissioners of DEC and DOT determined sufficient interest existed to consider amending the 1996 UMP.

In response to public and local government input, the Proposed Final 2015 UMP Amendment/FSEIS was prepared. It includes a new preferred alternative (Alternative 7) to divide the travel corridor into a rail segment and a trail segment.  The proposal would facilitate the extension of rail service from the Big Moose Station to the Tupper Lake Station (Segment 1).  The travel corridor between Tupper Lake and Lake Placid (Segment 2) would be converted to a recreation trail.  The entire length of the travel corridor will remain in State ownership and classified by the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan (APSLMP) as a travel corridor.

APA Chairwoman Lani Ulrich said, “We commend our colleagues at the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Transportation for conducting a comprehensive public process.  The planning and preparation of this proposed amendment was a herculean task.  We also applaud all the citizens who participated and provided invaluable input toward improving the unique asset that this travel corridor represents.  We now encourage the public to prepare comments regarding the proposed amendment’s conformance to the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan.”

“We heard many comments from the public about the best future use of the Remsen Lake Placid Travel Corridor,” said Acting DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos.  “The State’s proposed action will create one of the longest excursion trains in the country and a year-round recreational trail in the heart of the Adirondacks to be used by residents and visitors to the Olympic region.”

“This proposal will preserve the existing excursion railroad from Utica and we will work with the railroad to look at extending its operation to Tupper Lake,” said DOT Commissioner Driscoll.  “At the same time, the State will partner with the communities to construct a recreational trail between Tupper Lake and Lake Placid that will accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists.”

The railroad currently operates on Segment 1 of the travel corridor between Remsen and Big Moose Station. The 2015 UMP/FEIS Amendment would facilitate a longer-term lease agreement with a train operator.  In addition, the plan identifies a strategy to link the railroad to DEC recreational facilities on adjacent Forest Preserve and conservation easement lands.

The preferred alternative calls for the removal of rail infrastructure between Tupper Lake and Lake Placid and conversion of Segment 2 to a recreation trail suitable for a range of recreational activities including walking, running, biking, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, and use by the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) and Olympic Training Center for biathlon and cross-country ski athletes.

Snowmobile use would continue along the entire length of the travel corridor. In response to concerns raised about the impacts the rails have when they are exposed during the snowmobile season, the proposed plan outlines conceptual alternatives to locate and construct snowmobile trail connections that do not rely on travel along the travel corridor where rail service would continue. Some of the communities that would be connected along these alternative trails include Long Lake, Raquette Lake, Eagle Bay, Inlet and Beaver River. The plan also emphasizes that snowmobile trail connections would be encouraged from Tupper Lake through existing Forest Preserve and conservation easement lands to link with existing trail systems on the Tug Hill and in the western Adirondacks.

The 2015 UMP/FEIS Amendment calls for enhancing the interpretation of historic assets along the travel corridor. It also considers the option of rehabilitating historic assets within the travel corridor for educational purposes and use as warming stations for the public year round.

The 119-mile Remsen-Lake Placid Travel Corridor is a unique public land resource. Its uninterrupted length, historical significance, and extremely gradual and low cumulative gradient set it apart from other public land resources in the Adirondack Park. Also, no other State land parcel intersects as many natural and human communities. From the remoteness of the Five Ponds Wilderness Area to the community centers it traverses, the travel corridor connects Adirondack inhabitants and visitors alike with the landscape, allowing them to directly access core Wilderness and Wild Forest lands within the Adirondack Park.

The final plan is available to view or download on APA’s website.

The public is encouraged to comment on how the proposal conforms to the guidelines and criteria of the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan.  The Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan is available to view or download from the Adirondack Park Agency’s website – www.apa.ny.gov.

Please address all written comments pertaining to Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan conformance to:

Kathy Regan

Deputy Director for Planning

NYS Adirondack Park Agency

P.O. Box 99

Ray Brook, NY 12977

Fax: 518-891-3938

Email – SLMP_Comments@apa.ny.gov

Please submit all conformance comments to the APA by December 18, 2015.

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.

The mission of the Adirondack Park Agency is to protect the public and private resources of the Adirondack Park through the exercise of the powers and duties of the Agency as provided by law.  For more information, call the APA at (518) 891-4050 or visit www.apa.ny.gov.

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