East Branch of Fish Creek Conservation Easement
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New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Lands & Forests East Branch of Fish Creek Conservation Easement RECREATION MANAGEMENT PLAN Including State Conservation Easement Lands held by; Corrigan, TLP LLC and The Nature Conservancy, Inc East Branch of Fish Creek State Forest and East Osceola State Forest Detached Forest Preserve Parcels Lewis-4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 13, and15 County of Lewis Towns of Lewis, Martinsburg, Montague, Osceola, and West Turin May 31, 2013 Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor Joe Martens, Commissioner Robert K. Davies, State Forester For further information contact: Keith Rivers, Supervising Forester NYSDEC Division of Lands and Forests 7327 State Route 812 Lowville, NY 13367 3 4 LOCATION MAP 5 6 “Friend Bill.— I am here in this country at work with my spade, And I think it is the last place that God ever made. There is nothing in sight but hills and the trees, And the swamps where you sink in mud to your knees; ...” Taken from an untitled poem, Osceola, Lewis County, New York; June 5th 1914. 7 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................................... 13 PREFACE ........................................................................................................................................ 15 I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 19 A. Planning Area Overview ....................................................................................................... 19 B. Planning Area Geographic Information ................................................................................ 20 C. Acreage (Ownerships and Compartment Definitions) ......................................................... 20 1. DEC Fee Lands (4,567 acres) .............................................................................................. 21 2. DEC Conservation Easement Lands (44,146 acres) ........................................................... 22 D. General Access ..................................................................................................................... 24 E. Corridors and Access Rights (Trails, Roads) on Easement Lands .......................................... 25 1. Primary Snowmobile Trail Corridors ................................................................................. 25 2. Rifle Season Primary Access Corridors .............................................................................. 26 3. Primary Access Corridors ................................................................................................... 28 4. Secondary Access Corridors .............................................................................................. 29 F. Area Identification ................................................................................................................ 29 G. General History (Prior Ownership) ....................................................................................... 30 1. Conservation Easements & East Branch of Fish Creek State Forest ................................. 30 2. Previously Held DEC Fee Lands ......................................................................................... 31 II. INFORMATION ON THE TRACT(S) ............................................................................................. 33 A. Natural Resources ................................................................................................................ 33 1. Physical .............................................................................................................................. 33 2. Biological ........................................................................................................................... 37 B. Infrastructure ........................................................................................................................ 39 1. Easements and East Branch of Fish Creek State Forest ..................................................... 39 2. East Osceola State Forest and Detached Forest Preserve Parcels ..................................... 40 C. Past Influences ...................................................................................................................... 40 D. Public Use ............................................................................................................................. 41 1. Land Resources .................................................................................................................. 42 2. Wildlife .............................................................................................................................. 42 9 3. Fisheries ............................................................................................................................. 42 4. Water Resources ............................................................................................................... 42 E. Recreational Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities ..................................................... 43 F. Relationship Between Public and Private Land .................................................................... 43 G. Capacity to Withstand Use ................................................................................................... 44 1. Carrying Capacity Concepts ............................................................................................... 45 2. The Goal-Achievement Framework .................................................................................. 46 3. Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) Process ...................................................................... 46 1. Physical ............................................................................................................................... 48 2. Biological ............................................................................................................................ 48 3. Social .................................................................................................................................. 50 H. Education, Interpretation and Research .............................................................................. 50 III. MANAGEMENT AND POLICY .................................................................................................... 52 A. Past Management ................................................................................................................ 52 1. Land Management ............................................................................................................ 52 2. Wildlife Management ........................................................................................................ 52 3. Fisheries Management ...................................................................................................... 53 B. Management Guidelines ...................................................................................................... 53 1. Guiding Documents ........................................................................................................... 53 2. Application of Guidelines, Standards and Terms of Acquisition ....................................... 55 3. Summary of Management Guidelines .............................................................................. 58 4. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Its Influence on Management Actions for Recreation and Related Facilities ........................................................................................... 63 C. Administration and Management Principles ........................................................................ 64 1. Administration ................................................................................................................... 64 2. Management Principles ..................................................................................................... 64 D. Management Issues, Needs and Desires ............................................................................. 66 1. Access for All Terrain Vehicles ........................................................................................... 66 2. General Access (Including Motor Vehicle Access) ............................................................ 67 3. Involvement of the Public in the Planning Process ........................................................... 68 4. Resource Degradation ....................................................................................................... 68 5. Camp Relocations .............................................................................................................. 68 6. Access for People with Disabilities .................................................................................... 68 10 7. Preservation of Cultural and Historical Knowledge and Resources .................................. 69 8. Public Information ............................................................................................................. 69 E. Goals and Objectives ............................................................................................................. 69 1. Management Goals for the East Branch of Fish Creek Planning Area .............................. 69 2. Objectives .........................................................................................................................