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Gov. Andrew Cuomo formally approved the classification for Boreas Ponds on March 20, paving the way for the state Department of Environmental Conservation to determine how the visitors can recreate on the tracts.
NORTH HUDSON | Gov. Andrew Cuomo has formally approved the Boreas Pond classification, calling the state’s recent acquisition a “national treasure” as he signed the deal recommended by the Adirondack Park Agency last month.
“I am proud to approve this classification package that strikes the right balance between preservation and access, and I encourage visitors from around the world to explore and enjoy the Adirondack Park,” Cuomo said in a statement.
The land is now open to the public under an interim access plan.
The next stage of the process will be handed off to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, who is tasked with drafting a permanent Unit Management Plan (UMP) that will determine the precise recreational usage allowed on the 20,543 acre tract.
A public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 3 at 6 p.m. at Newcomb Central School.
Local governments and green groups have largely viewed the classification, which has been split between Wilderness and Wild Forest sectors, as a compromise.
But discussion over how to access the final stretch of roadway leading up the namesake ponds — located about seven miles inland from Blue Ridge Road — is expected to dominate the upcoming discussions.
BeWildNY, a coalition of environmental groups, said the DEC has offered assurances that it will adopt “graduated access” to Boreas Ponds in which parking for the general public would remain in its current location 3.5 miles away from the namesake waterbodies.
“People with canoes and kayaks could bring them closer to the Boreas River, near LaBier Flow, a mile or so south of the ponds,” said BeWildNY in a statement. “A ranger at LaBier Flow would operate a gate to allow persons with disabilities to access a final six-car lot about 530 feet from the outflow dam to the ponds.”
The joint statement by Adirondack Council’s William Janeway and Adirondack Mountain Club’s Neil Woodworth called for no vehicles to be allowed beyond that point, and roadside parking would be ideally be banned (with some exceptions for big game hunting season).
Access the Adirondacks said they don’t have a problem with maintaining a large parking lot at 3.5 miles.
“But I would hope for additional parking at LaBier Flow or Four Corners or both,” said North Hudson Supervisor Ron Moore. “Beyond that parking lot, we hope to see parking for the handicapped.”
Access will not support a gate at LaBier Flow.
“That’s all going to get hammered out in the UMP process, but I would personally be opposed to any gates there,” Moore said. “We’re hopeful that the parking lot would not just be for the handicapped, but for a few universal access spaces as well.”
Adirondack Wilderness Advocates (AWA) did not support the classification, and would have preferred the entirety of the tract be classified as Wilderness.
The coalition would now like to see the general parking area stay at the present interim gate, and would be opposed to a possible UMP that would allow recreationalists to park in one place, drop their gear off and drive back.
“We would like to see the general public parking stay at the interim gate where it right now,” said Brendan Wiltse, a co-founder.
The classification allows for a snowmobile connector trail at the southern end of the parcel.
AWA wants the DEC to consider an alternative where snowmobile use stays as far south as possible, a measure that may be possible with the passage of the land bank amendment last year allowing localities to access small parcels of state land without having to amend the state constitution each time.
“Is there a way to put a trail along the Blue Ridge Road for certain sections so that motorized use is consolidated and leaves Gulf Brook Road open for people to cross country ski?” Wiltse told The Sun.
DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos has said he hopes the UMP process will be expedient.
“We want it to move along quickly so that hopefully we can break ground on some of the amenities this year,” Seggos told The Sun in January.
Assemblyman Dan Stec (R-Queensbury) said he’ll be following the process closely.
“I just hope it won’t take forever to get the UMP done,” Stec told The Sun.
Altogether, the DEC is amending UMPs for the High Peaks Wilderness Complex and the Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forests to address more than 95,872 acres of Forest Preserve lands classified and added to the two units after their respective UMPs were finalized.
Joining Boreas is the Casey Brook Tract, MacIntyre East Tract, MacIntyre West Tract, the lands formerly owned by National Lead, the former Dix Mountain Wilderness lands and other tracts located in Keene, Newcomb and North Hudson.
The newly-acquired lands are now part of the High Peaks Wilderness Area, making it the third largest east of the Mississippi River.
The public is encouraged to attend the meeting on April 3 or provide written comments before the close of business April 20.
Comments indicating which unit is being referenced for the newly classified lands and waters may emailed to R5.UMP@dec.ny.gov.
