SENTINEL RANGE WILDERNESS AREA and Bartlett Primitive Area Unit Management Plan River Area Management Plans West Branch Ausable River East Branch Ausable River NYS DEC, REGION 5, DIVISION OF LANDS AND FORESTS P.O. Box 296, 1115 State Route 86, Ray Brook, NY 12997-0296 [email protected] www.dec.ny.gov January 2020 This page intentionally left blank OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER New York State Department of Environmental Conservation 625 Broadway, 14th Floor, Albany, New York 12233-1010 P: (518) 402-8545 I F: (518) 402-8541 www.dec.ny.gov MEMORANDUM TO: The Record FROM: Basil Seggos SUBJECT: Sentinel Range Wilderness Unit Management Plan The Sentinel Range Wilderness Unit Management Plan has been completed and the Adirondack Park Agency has found the Plan to be in conformance to the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan. The Plan is consistent with Environmental Conservation Law, and Department Rules, Regulations and Policies and is hereby approved and adopted. Basil Seggos Commissioner New York State Department of Envi(onmental Conservation . : 0roRK I De~artment of oRruN•TY Environmental Conservation This page intentionally left blank UOFwvoRK Adirondack PORTUNITY- Park Agency ANDRE M t .f..!!lliID TERRY MARTINO Govern or Executlve Director FINAL RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE ADIRONDACK PARK AGENCY WITH RESPECT TO THE SENTINEL RANGE WILDERNESS AREA (SRWA) UNIT MANAGEMENT PLAN November 14, 2019 WHEREAS, Section 816 of the Adirondack Park Agency Act (APA Act) directs the Department of Environmental Conservation (Department) to develop, in consultation with the Adirondack Park Agency (Agency), individual management plans for units of land classified in the Adirondack Park State Land Master (APSLMP) and requires such management plans to conform to the guidelines and criteria of the APSLMP; and WHEREAS, in addition to such guidelines and criteria, the APSLMP prescribes the contents of unit management plans (UMPs) and provides that the Agency will determine whether a proposed individual UMP complies with such guidelines and criteria; and WHEREAS, on November 16, 2017 the Department presented a Draft UMP for the Sentinel Range Wilderness Area (SRWA) and Bartlett Primitive Area and Draft River Area Management Plans for the West and East Branches of the Ausable River to the Agency (Draft SRWA UMP); and WHEREAS, the Department established a public comment period on the Draft SRWA UMP which ran from November 1, 2017 to December 22, 2017 and held a public meeting during the comment period in Ray Brook on December 7, 2017; and WHEREAS, the Department received a substantial number of oral and written comments during the public comment period; and WHEREAS, the Department revised the Draft SRWA UMP in response to some of the public comments received, and the Agency has considered those revisions; and WHEREAS, the Department presented to the Agency the Proposed Final SRWA UMP on September 13, 2019 and a public comment period for conformance with the APSLMP was open until October 11, 2019; and WHEREAS, the public comments raised several points with respect to conformance of the SRWA UMP with the APSLMP guidelines and criteria for the P.O. Box 99 • 1133 NYS Route 86 •Ray Brook, NY 12977 • Tel: (518) 891-4050 •Fax: (518) 891-3938 • www.apa.ny.gov Final Resolution Sentinel Range Wilderness Area UMP November 14, 2019 Page 2 management and use of Wilderness lands and Agency staff have·provided responses to those public comments for Agency consideration; and WHEREAS, to ensure protection of natural resources and the wilderness character of the SRWA lands, the Proposed Final SRWA UMP proposes a phased approach for the implementation of facilities, guided by a Wildlands Monitoring Program; and WHEREAS, the Proposed Final SRWA UMP proposes new recreational opportunities and facilities on the wilderness lands in a manner that maximizes the protection of the wilderness resource and public enjoyment and appreciation of the Forest Preserve, and WHEREAS, pursuant to the State Environmental Quality Review Act, the Department has determined that the Proposed Final SRWA UMP will not have a significant adverse impact on the environment and filed notice thereof in the Environmental Notice Bulletin on November 13, 2019; and WHEREAS, the Agency has considered the foregoing recitals, the Proposed Final SRWA UMP, the November 6, 2019 Memorandum from Rick Weber to Terry Martino, a November 14, 2019 staff presentation, public comment and Agency and Department staffs' responses, and the deliberations of Agency Board Members and Designees at the Agency's November 14, 2019 meeting. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that pursuant to Section 816 of the Adirondack Park Agency Act, the Agency finds the Proposed Final Unit Management Plan for the Sentinel Range Wilderness and Bartlett Primitive Area and River Area Management Plans for the West and East Branches of the Ausable River, dated November 2019, conform with the guidelines and criteria of the APSLMP; and BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Agency Board authorizes its Executive Director to advise the Commissioner of Environmental Conservation of the Agency's determination in this matter. Ayes: Brad Austin, John Ernst, Art Lussi, Bill Thomas, Dan Wilt, Lynne Mahoney, Bob Stegemann Nays: None Abstentions: None Absent: Dr. Chad Dawson Acknowledgments Planning Team: Robert Daley Forester 2 Division of Lands & Forests Dan Fox Forest Ranger 1 Forest Protection and Fire Mgt. Robert Praczkajlo Forest Ranger 1 Forest Protection and Fire Mgt. John Fieroh Biologist 1 (Fisheries) Bureau of Fisheries Paul Jensen Biologist 2 (Wildlife) Bureau of Wildlife Doug McCabe Conservation Operations Supv. 2 Division of Operations Walt Link Environmental Program Specialist (Planning) Adirondack Park Agency Steven Guglielmi Forester 1 Division of Lands & Forests Staff Contributors: Thomas Martin Natural Resources Supervisor Regional Administration Kristofer Alberga Forester 3 Lands and Forests Tierney Rosenstock Natural Resources Planner Lands and Forests Josh Clague Environmental Program Specialist 2 Lands and Forests Sentinel Range Wilderness Area – Unit Management Plan – 2020 i This page intentionally left blank Sentinel Range Wilderness Area – Unit Management Plan – 2020 ii Contents Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................ i Contents .......................................................................................................................... iii I. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 A. Planning Area Overview ................................................................................... 1 B. Unit Geographic Information ............................................................................ 1 C. General Access ................................................................................................ 2 D. General History ................................................................................................ 3 II. Inventory, Use, and Capacity to Withstand Use .......................................................... 5 A. Natural Resources ........................................................................................... 5 B. Facilities ......................................................................................................... 45 C. Past Influences .............................................................................................. 45 D. Public Use ...................................................................................................... 48 E. Education, Interpretation and Research ......................................................... 55 F. Relationship between Public and Private Land .............................................. 56 G. Capacity to Withstand Use............................................................................. 57 III. Management and Policy ........................................................................................... 69 A. Management Guidelines ................................................................................ 69 B. Administration and Management Principles ................................................... 73 C. Management Issues, Needs and Desires ...................................................... 78 IV. Proposed Management Actions ............................................................................... 79 A. Bio-Physical Resources ................................................................................. 79 B. Land and Water Protection............................................................................. 87 C. Facilities ......................................................................................................... 94 Sentinel Range Wilderness Area – Unit Management Plan – 2020 iii Table of Contents D. Public Use and Access ................................................................................ 112 E. Proposed Regulations .................................................................................. 119 F. Bartlett Primitive Area ................................................................................... 120 F. Old Mountain Road ...................................................................................... 121 VI. Phases for Implementation .................................................................................... 123 Bibliography and References .....................................................................................