NEW YORK STATE Department of Environmental Conservation DIVISION OF LANDS & FORESTS Fire Tower Study for the Adirondack Park DAVID A. PATERSON ALEXANDER B. GRANNIS Governor Commissioner For Further Information Contact: Robert K. Davies, State Forester New York State Department of Environmental Conservation 625 Broadway, 5th Floor Albany, NY 12233-4254 Phone: (518) 402-9405 [email protected] February 2010 “From the summit of any of the higher mountains of the Great Wilderness, the scene presented to the eye of the beholder is one of the most striking and sublime in the whole domain of nature. It is at once awfully grand and wildly beautiful beyond the power of language to describe. On every side peak after peak towers up into the clear, cold atmosphere above the clouds, their outlines growing softer and more shadowy in the distance, until the earth and sky commingle in the vast encircling horizon. In all the nearer valleys, full in view, sleep numberless mountain meadows and quiet lakes and lakelets, ‘pools of liquid crystal turned emerald in the reflected green of the impending woods.’ Wonderful also are the hues and tints and shades of color which these mountains assume with the varying seasons of the year and with the daily changes of the weather, as the sky becomes bright and clear or dark and overcast. Now we see them clothed in the crimson and golden tints of the evening – now in the cold, leaden grey of the morning; now silvery mists creep up their shaggy sides and linger languidly in their valleys – then purple shadows flit across them and play upon their summits. Sometimes the air is so pure and clear after a storm that all the mountains stand out with outlines so sharply defined, and their great forms seemingly appear so near, that we fancy human voices might be heard from the furthest of them. Then again they are all mantled with the matchless soft blue haze, often called mountain smoke, which is that dim, impalpable but lovely illusion and semblance of a color, that indescribable appearance of the fleeting, the vanishing and the spiritual, seen nowhere else in nature’s realm but among the mountains, that make the bristling crags and towering peaks, and solid mountain masses seem for all the world like softly sleeping clouds, hanging low-down in a far-off shadowy sky, or floating over the sleeping bosom of some distant mountain lake. Thus the scene forever changes, every day in the year, and every hour in the day presenting some new feature in the mountain landscape.” Nathaniel Sylvester, 1877 “Those areas classified as wild forest are generally less fragile, ecologically, than the wilderness and primitive areas. Because the resources of these areas can withstand more human impact, these areas should accommodate much of the future use of the Adirondack forest preserve. The scenic attributes and the variety of uses to which these areas lend themselves provide a challenge to the recreation planner. Within constitutional constraints, those types of outdoor recreation that afford enjoyment without destroying the wild forest character or natural resource quality should be encouraged.” Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan, November 1987, Updated 2001 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................ 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................... 5 CHAPTER 1: PLANNING ........................................... 9 I. UNIT MANAGEMENT PLANNING EFFORTS TO DATE ..... 11 II. STATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REVIEW ACT ....... 12 CHAPTER 2: SCOPE OF THE STUDY AND MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES ........................................................... 13 I. ARTICLE XIV, SECTION 1 OF THE NEW YORK STATE CONSTITUTION....................................... 15 II. LAWS AND REGULATIONS ........................... 16 III. POLICIES AND GUIDELINES ....................... 19 IV. RELATIONSHIP TO ADIRONDACK PARK AGENCY AND APSLMP ............................................. 19 V. RELATIONSHIP TO UNIT MANAGEMENT PLANS ......... 26 VI. RELATIONSHIP TO PARKS, RECREATION, AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION ...................................... 27 VII. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PLANNING EFFORTS ........ 27 VIII. RELATIONSHIP TO LANDS OTHER THAN THE FOREST PRESERVE ........................................... 30 CHAPTER 3: GENERAL HISTORY ................................. 35 I. NEW YORK STATE WILDFIRE HISTORY................. 37 II. GENERAL ADIRONDACK AND FIRE TOWER HISTORY . 38 III. FIRE TOWER ELEMENTS .............................. 42 CHAPTER 4: ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING ......................... 51 I. AREA DESCRIPTION .................................. 53 II. HISTORICAL/CULTURAL INVENTORY.................. 60 CHAPTER 5: FIRE TOWER INVENTORY ........................... 69 I. GENERAL INFORMATION ............................. 71 II. PREVIOUS FIRE TOWER MOUNTAINS ................... 72 III. FIRE TOWERS ON FOREST PRESERVE LAND ............ 80 IV. FIRE TOWERS ON LANDS OTHER THAN THE FOREST PRESERVE ........................................... 83 V. FIRE TOWERS ON PRIVATE LANDS CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC ..................................................... 86 VI. FIRE TOWERS WITH OBSERVER CABINS................ 88 VII. FIRE TOWERS AND COMMUNICATIONS ................ 94 VIII. LEGAL AGREEMENTS AND OWNERSHIP ............... 104 IX. OTHER FACILITIES .................................. 105 i CHAPTER 6: PUBLIC USE ....................................... 107 I. EARLY FIRE TOWER USE............................. 109 II. CURRENT FIRE TOWER USE .................................................... 110 III. TYPES OF PUBLIC USE ............................... 116 IV. PUBLIC USE ACCESS CONSTRAINTS .................. 121 V. ASSESSMENT OF NEEDS AND PROJECTED USE ........ 124 VI. ECONOMIC BENEFITS ................................ 125 CHAPTER 7: EDUCATION AND INTERPRETATION ............... 127 I. GUIDANCE .......................................... 129 II. HISTORIC PRECEDENCE ............................. 129 III. EXISTING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS ................. 130 CHAPTER 8: PAST MANAGEMENT .............................. 141 I. FOREST PROTECTION AND FIRE MANAGEMENT ....... 143 II. ORGANIZATIONS PROVIDING MANAGEMENT SUPPORT .................................................... 144 III. FIRE TOWER RESTORATION EFFORTS ................. 146 IV. COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT ..................... 153 V. HISTORIC PRESERVATION ........................... 153 CHAPTER 9: MANAGEMENT ISSUES ............................. 157 I. GENERAL QUESTIONS............................... 159 II. ISSUES OUTSIDE THE SCOPE OF THIS STUDY.......... 160 CHAPTER 10: MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES ........................ 161 I. STATUS OF STATE OWNED FIRE TOWERS ON FOREST PRESERVE LANDS ................................... 163 II. INDIVIDUAL TOWERS .............................. 203 III. OBSERVER CABINS ................................. 215 IV. ADMINISTRATION................................... 217 VI. ACQUISITION ....................................... 220 CHAPTER 11: PROPOSED MAINTENANCE AND INTERPRETATION STANDARDS .............................................. 224 I. FIRE TOWERS AND OBSERVER CABINS ............... 226 II. FIRE TOWER COMMUNICATIONS..................... 227 III. OTHER ISSUES ...................................... 233 IV. INTERPRETATION AND STAFFING STANDARDS ....... 234 APPENDICES ................................................... 238 APPENDIX A. ACRONYMS AND DEFINITIONS ................ 240 APPENDIX B. DEC PUBLIC PARTICIPATION SUMMARY ....... 246 APPENDIX C. DEC POLICIES................................ 256 APPENDIX D. FIRE DANGER RATING AREAS ................ 260 APPENDIX E. TRAILHEAD REGISTER MAINTENANCE ......... 264 APPENDIX F. SAMPLE AANR ............................... 268 APPENDIX G. FIRE TOWER FACT SHEETS .................... 280 APPENDIX H. FIRE TOWER CHECK LIST ..................... 398 ii APPENDIX I. AFTA STANDARDS AND GENERIC JOB DESCRIPTION .................................................... 402 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................. 406 MAPS AND DRAWINGS ........................................... 414 iii This Page Intentionally Left Blank iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Fire Tower Study for the Adirondack Park - February 2010 1 This Page Intentionally Left Blank 2 Acknowledgments ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Study Coordinator and Lead Author: Thomas Kapelewski, Senior Forester Lands & Forests: Karyn Richards, Forest Preserve Coordinator Peter Frank, Bureau Chief, Forest Preserve Mgt Tom Martin, Regional Forester (Region 5) Dave Smith, Regional Forester (Region 6) Historic Resources: Chuck Vandrei, DEC Historic Preservation Officer Public Protection: Forest Ranger staff, see list below Operations: Harry Spetla, Radio Communications Coordinator Adirondack Park Agency: Walt Linck Many other employees of DEC contributed to this study: Brian Finlayson, Ken Hamm, Sandra Garlick, Rick Fenton, Kris Alberga, Mike Curley, Pat Whalen, Scott Healy, Jim Lyons, Spencer Brand, Lester Dennison, Sean Reynolds, Dan Levy, John Wood, Steve Guglielmi, Robert Daley, Keith Rivers, Eric Kasza, Stew Brown, Ben Thomas, and Tate Conner. Numerous forest rangers including Charles Platt, Steve Ovitt, Werner Schwab, Greg George, Tom Eakin, John Ploss, Steve Guenther, Jim Waters, Bruce Lomnitzer, John Chambers, Keith Bassage, Charles Richardson, Robert Coscomb, and Doug Riedman also provided valuable information. OTHER CONTRIBUTORS AND SOURCES OF FIRE TOWER INFORMATION: This study represents a mosaic of contributions which have come from many people, both inside and outside of State government.