DEC Approves Controversial $44.8 Million Rails-to-trails Plan

Have you ever been involved with someone who loses a contest and then keeps changing the rules of the game until he or she eventually wins? If so, then you know what it feels like to deal with the NYS DEC over the issue of the Adirondack Railroad.

After nearly a decade of hearings, court proceedings, and other challenges, the DEC and the APA kept changing the rulings and definitions until it finally won and now it can go ahead with its plan to tear up the upper portion of the Adirondack Railroad. Although it may seem like a compromise on the surface, in reality the plan will cut the Adirondack Railroad off at the knees.

All the legal hurdles for the controversial “Rails to Trails” project in the Adirondacks have been cleared. The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation confirmed this week the controversial $44 million project was cleared by the state Adirondack Park Agency on a revised version of the so-called — 119-mile railroad corridor connecting the Utica area to Lake Placid. The plan, pushed by the state departments of En

vironmental Conservation and Transportation, calls for ripping up the rail lines for a 34-mile, multiuse trail in the heart of the Adirondacks from Tupper Lake to Lake Placid while preserving the section from Thendara to Tupper Lake.

Train tracks from Tupper Lake south to Utica will be refurbished for scenic railroad rides. That refurbishment of the 85 miles of railroad and related work is expected to be completed next year, according to the DEC. Meanwhile, work on ripping up the railroad tracks north of Tupper Lake to Lake Placid will be finished some time in 2023, DEC added.

The plan has gone through many motions and has been the subject of numerous public meetings and spirited debate. The Adirondack Explorer magazine reported that it became “one of the most contentious issues to come before the (Park Agency) board.”

“In its final series of hearings the Remsenlake Placid Travel Corridor Unit Management Plan drew nearly 800 public comments over the winter, many from die-hard railroad buffs, sportsmen, tourist organizations, and snowmobilers or hikers. Supporters, which included a host of communities and local government leaders, hope the multiuse trail would provide a new, economic boost to a popular area of the Adirondacks. They claim It would cater to everyone from hikers to bikers in the warm months, to snowmobilers, or cross country skiers during the winter.

The Adirondack Scenic Railroad, which has used the train tracks on the corridor for nearly two decades to provide railroad rides for tourists, has vehemently opposed the plan which would destroy the tracks and prevent train transportation to Lake Placid.

There was much support from tourists who visualized taking the train to Lake Placid, with possible stop-overs in Tupper Lake or Saranac Lake. It was also hoped that the regular train schedule could enable drop-offs for sportsmen (hunters, fishermen, campers, paddlers, etc.) at otherwise inaccessible locations like Five Ponds Wilderness, North Branch of Beaver River, Lake Lila, Lows Lake, etc. Obviously this is no longer a realistic option.

The group alleged in a lawsuit filed in the spring of 2016 that the state’s plan was put together in an arbitrary and capricious manner, that the state’s economic analysis supporting the plan was flawed and was carried out by a firm that previously was used by advocates of the trail plan — and that land ownership issues along the rail route were not adequately addressed.

In 2017, a Franklin County judge sided with the Adirondack Scenic Railroad, putting a halt to things. The DEC used a series of manuevers, including changing the classification of the travel corridor until they got the ruling they wanted. The Park Agency’s decision last month noted that the project is in compliance with the Adirondack Park State Land Management Plan as recently defined by the DEC.

During the arguments last fall, one DEC spokesman arrogantly commented to me – “just remember that we get the final say.” Obviously all the economic facts and other arguments were in vain. It makes you wonder how many other DEC public hearings have also been played with loaded dice.

It is very clear that the DEC and some of the spokesmen and community leaders do not care about tourist concerns or the sportsmen. If these people think that the hikers and bikers are going to bring prosperity, they can sell shares of stock in the bridges over the Raquette River! Maybe they should start organizing “tours to see or experience Bigfoot!” Other previous actions such as the classifications of the Essex Chain prove

DEC and APA disdain for the average tourist or sportsman. Economic impact is practically zero and regulations discourage the average sportsman from using these areas.

Certainly it is possible that some people prefer to see the railroad destroyed in favor of a hiking or biking trail. That is their right. But do not expect me, or this column, to pass on news of this “super trail” from Tupper to Placid. I also intend to ignore other news and attractions of the Trilakes area. There are lots of other wonderful areas of the Adirondacks to enjoy.

This whole movement is another siap in the face of tourists and sportsmen. I do not plan on going and spending my money where I am not wanted. Personally I recommend that others do the same. Boycott this area and the businesses that support this nonsense of a hiking trail for locals to walk their dogs!