State seeks public input on forest plan
Environmental department welcomes comments on use of 6,100-plus acres
The state Department of Environmental Conservation wants the public’s input on a new management plan for more than 6,100 acres of forest preserve lands in the Shandaken Wild Forest, including about 600 acres of the more than 1,200 purchased by the state from resort developer Crossroads Ventures.
The state is in the process of revising its unit management plan for the lands, which are located in the central Catskills.
The lands are contained in five parcels in the town of Shandaken in Ulster County and the town of Lexington in Greene County.
The original Shandaken Wild Forest Unit Management Plan was adopted in 2005. It can be viewed online at on.ny. gov/2IZsyED.
Since the adoption of the original plan, the state has added roughly 630 acres on the eastern slopes of Belleayre Mountain to the Shandaken Wild Forest.
The state purchased a total of 1,220 acres as part of a deal between the state and developer Crossroads Ventures Inc. under which Crossroads would be allowed to build its planned Belleayre Resort at Catskill Park on the border of Ulster and Delaware counties.
New York paid $5.6 million for the land, which was a key element in a development agreement for the resort among the state, environmental groups, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and Crossroads Ventures. The deal was brokered in the fall of 2007 by then Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
In a press release Monday, Department of Environmental Conservation Region 3 Regional Director Kelly Turturro said the department will now take comments on how best to manage the lands, while providing access to
“a variety of outdoor recreational activities consistent with the Catskill Park State Land Master Plan.”
The goal, she said, is “to protect the natural resources, provide outdoor recreational opportunities for residents and visitors, and ensure the forest preserve is an asset to the communities and a benefit to local economies.”
Kathy Nolan, head of the Catskill Heritage Alliance, said the organization supports the state’s plan to make the newly purchased lands available for public recreational activities.
“This was part of the compromise that everybody agreed on,” said Nolan, who also is an Ulster County legislator from Shandaken. “Its uses would be environmentally sound and environmentally low impact. That would be appropriate for that area.”
The Department of Environmental Conservation said management issues under consideration include the protection of natural resources on the lands and enhancing public recreational
access opportunities for mountain biking and cross-country skiing.
The recently completed “Shandaken-Belleayre Mountain Bike and Cross Country Ski Trail System Concept Plan” identifies and offers a conceptually designed trail network for mountain biking and cross-country skiing in the western portion of the Shandaken Wild Forest and the adjacent Belleayre Mountain Ski Center Intensive Use Area.
The plan can be viewed online at on.ny.gov/2ERd0jW.
Comments on what should be included in the revised management plan can be sent to Natural Resource Planner Pine Roehrs, NYSDEC, 21 S. Putt Corners Road, New Paltz, N.Y. 12561 or R3.UMP@dec.ny.gov.
Comments will be accepted through May 25.
Once developed, the management plan will be widely distributed for public comment, and a meeting to discuss the plan will be held.