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ADIRONDACK PARK RECREATION STRATEGY:

Capitalizing on the Economic Potential of our Natural Environment

New York’s Adirondack Park holds an incomparable combination of mountains, lakes and recreation venues providing a remarkable variety of recreational opportunities, all within a day’s drive of 120 million visitors. While the Park has long been recognized for its outstanding natural features and recreational amenities, there is significantly more that can be done to capture a greater share of the outdoor recreation market and to increase this sector’s economic benefits to the Park and its residents.

Governor Cuomo’s comments on the State’s pending addition of former Finch Paper Company lands to the Forest Preserve captured the vision well when he said, “Opening these lands to public use and enjoyment for the rst time in 150 years will provide extraordinary new outdoor recreational opportunities, increase the number of visitors to the and generate additional tourism revenue.”

The Adirondack Partnership Recreation Recommendations in this report address Strategy Group’s mission is to establish a four areas of opportunity where suggested comprehensive recreation strategy for the strategies could increase recreation-based Adirondack Park and to identify, diversify and economic growth inside the Adirondack grow recreational opportunities Park: which will help sustain the Tourism economy of communities Ensuring access to throughout the Park. in the public recreation Adirondack Recent planning initiatives in Positioning community the Park have identified outdoor region is a support of tourism recreation as an area of major $1.1 billion economic opportunity that Expanding the outdoor recreation industry has the potential to create new industry investment and employment supporting Marketing the identity of within the Park. According to the the entire Park. study, Economic Impact of Tourism in nearly NY 2010 by Tourism Economics, 20,000 jobs We include examples of tourism in the Adirondack community successes and the region was a $1.1 billion industry story of five communities where the addition supporting nearly 20,000 jobs (17% of total of new public lands offers a potential model Adirondack employment) and generated to test the recommendations included in this $144 million in State and local taxes in 2010. report. 3 Capitalizing on Opportunities to Leverage the Economic Potential of OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

4 Opportunity 1:

Ensure access to public lands for a full range of recreation activities for people of all ages and abilities.

Recommendations: • Expedite a collaborative approach to recreation planning for Forest Preserve, conservation easement and other publicly accessible lands within the Park which seeks to: • Establish recreational linkages between communities in the Park. • Create a system of destination trails that weave between the regions of the Park. • Develop a spectrum of recreational opportunities ranging from more intensive use in the front country and more remote interior experiences. • Consider the needs of various user groups during planning and implementation of infrastructure projects (e.g. bike lanes during road reconstruction/repaving). • Create an online asset management system to coordinate public land stewardship carried out by paid and volunteer groups which would Capitalizing on also serve as a project locator for potential volunteers. Opportunities • Implement a cohesive design standard and establish informative themes for recreation opportunity signage among the State, local to Leverage the governments and businesses in the Park. • Establish a dedicated fund devoted to maintaining recreation Economic Potential of infrastructure. • Increase the stewardship category of the Environmental Protection Fund. OUR NATURAL • Identify and develop recreational opportunities within communities (e.g. pedestrian and bicycle pathways, athletic elds and water ENVIRONMENT access).

5 Opportunity 2:

Recommendations: Position • Conduct tourism amenity mapping across the Park to identify gaps in service as well as market opportunities. communities to • Utilize targeted investments to ensure each regional recreation hub (cluster of communities and related attract revenue infrastructure and amenities) has the complete set of from recreating amenities to facilitate visitor-driven economic activity, recognizing that each community can and should bene t visitors. from the success of others within its regional hub. • Provide technical and nancial assistance for Park communities to: • Identify water and sewer improvement needs related to business growth and development planning. • Apply for low-interest nancing from the NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation. • Tap into grant opportunities and planning assistance programs to make improvements to municipal services related to business development and recreation amenities. • Improve Main Streets. • Implement the Community Transformation Tourism Fund and the Tourism Business Revitalization Fund (recommended by the North Country Regional Economic Development Council) as a way to jumpstart construction Each community and improvements to existing visitor within can and amenities. should benefit • Continue to support NYSERDA energy from the success audits, grants and loans for businesses of others within its needing to upgrade their energy eciency regional hub. to maintain their business pro tability. • Establish an Adirondack Microenterprise Fund to support small business retention, development and expansion within the Park. is fund should include opportunities for both grants and low-interest loans and take into account the seasonality of businesses, both in understanding streams of income and encouraging shoulder season development.

6 Opportunity 3:

Expand and diversify the outdoor recreation industry as a Park-wide priority for economic sustainability.

Recommendations: • Target the outdoor recreation industry as a coordinated element of the North Country, Capital Region and Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council Plans. • Encourage programmatic collaboration among the various IDAs and related organizations in the Park to foster a favorable investment climate for the retention and expansion of the Park’s outdoor industry. • Plan and implement a diverse and dispersed set of managed recreation activities within the Park including races, challenges, athletic events and tournaments and other activities which support the Park’s hospitality industry.

Opportunity 4:

Market the identity of the entire Park to realize the State and local economic bene ts of this unique asset.

Recommendations: • Develop a comprehensive recreational asset inventory and web portal which promotes all recreation assets and events across the Park. Allow regional tourism, local communities and economic development websites to access the inventory and provide a real-time and accurate accounting of the recreational amenities within their districts. • Develop an Adirondack Park design vernacular and logo to be used by State agencies on all public information outlets (e.g. signs, the web and published material) and available for use by private providers of visitor amenities. 7 The Six Million-Acre Current Successes Adirondack Park The Adirondack Partnership’s Recreation The Park covers approximately 20% of State. It is the largest Park in the contiguous . Strategy Group did not start with a blank The Park contains more than 105 towns and villages and is within a day’s drive of 120 million people.

slate. We learned from existing examples _`11 FE189 DC95 Ellenburg 191 of success stories where communities have ME FE VT Malone capitalized on the Park’s outdoor recreation NH DC37 _`9 345NY 11C assets. FE FE310 FE FE11B E190 MA _`11 F FE456 CT FE374 PA Lyon 50 Hopkinton Mountain Dannemora Plattsburgh e newly created Cranberry Lake 50, a fty-mile Potsdam Saint Regis Falls Saranac

route around Cranberry Lake, was featured as one of the 30 _`11 FE458 DC 22B best multi-day hikes in the Northeast in the January 2011 DC3 FE Peru issue of Backpacker Magazine. Since its inception in 2008, DC68 more than 440 people have ocially registered as having _`11 Keeseville DC9N completed the trail. In addition to attracting visitors, the South Ausable Paul Forks trail serves as a branding tool for the local communities. Colton Smiths DC56 DC86 Wilmington DC22 90 Miler Canoe Lake Clear FE186 Willsboro Saranac 86 Race and the Northern Forest Canoe Trail Lake DC Essex DC9N e three-day, 90-mile canoe and kayak race begins in DC3 Lake ¦¨§87 C58 Fine Old Forge, stops overnight in Long Lake, and nishes in D C3 Placid DC22 D DC73 Elizabethtown Saranac Lake. Over 500 participants, as well as numerous DC3 Cranberry Tupper Westport Lake Lake Keene support teams partake in the race and demand is so strong DC3 Valley that applicants are regularly denied. e race follows a Star _`9 Lake DC73 DC9N portion of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, whose users have spent an estimated $6 million in the local economy Port Henry C30 _`9 and support over 134 jobs. D Long Lake Newcomb North Crown Point Wilmington/Whiteface Bike Fest FE28N Hudson

Driven by a grassroots eort, new mountain bike trail networks have been developed throughout the Town of 74 Ticonderoga DC Wilmington, helping to stimulate hospitality industry Lake Schroon Lake Indian Minerva revenue growth by 60% between 2000 and 2011. e DC28 Lake DC22 Wilmington Whiteface Bike Fest’s 100K race is a quali er Inlet DC8 for the nation’s most notorious mountain bike race, the Leadville Pottersville Hague Brantingham Old North 100, and has grown to over 350 racers in just two years. Forge Creek 9N DC30 DC Champlain Area Trails DC28 Johnsburg Numerous hiking trails have been developed throughout ¦¨§87 Whitehall DC28 Bolton the Park’s , linking local communities. DC8 Landing e trails are built and maintained through the work Woodgate Lake Speculator _`4 Pleasant Warrensburg 22A of Champlain Area Trails, a group that also works to 12 FE DC Stony George preserve open space, promote farming and restore DC46 Creek Fort 149 communities through its Champlain Valley Conservation DC8 Wells FE Ann

Partnership Project. Lake DC30 Luzerne Hamilton Birding Festival Hinckley Glens DC10 Falls Each June, the Hamilton County Birding Festival attracts Northville FE365 nearly 100 attendees bringing an estimated $56,000 to Stratford DC9N 40 $80,000 into the local economy during an o-season time. 49 Caroga 50 DC DC Lake DC _`4 Capitalizing on a wide array of natural habitats found Saratoga DC5A Mayfield Springs primarily on public land, the festival features outings Utica DC29 DC5 FE169 with New York State licensed guides, canoe trips, hiking 32 ¦¨§90 DC9P DC 8 excursions and lectures throughout the county. Johnstown _`9 The Six Million-Acre Adirondack Park North Creek Business Alliance The Park covers approximately 20% of New York State. It is the largest Park in the contiguous United States. e hamlet of North Creek and the Town of Johnsburg The Park contains more than 105 towns and villages and is within a day’s drive of 120 million people. have experienced a renaissance in part due to the North Creek Business Alliance, a group that is expanding linkages _`11 FE189 between its hamlet and outdoor recreation opportunities. DC95 Ellenburg 191 ME FE e Alliance has developed shuttles and signage to link VT Malone NH visitors from the Saratoga & North Creek Railway to new DC37 _`9 345NY 11C trails, the business district, Gore Mountain, and the North FE FE310 FE FE11B E190 MA _`11 F FE456 Creek Ski Bowl. CT FE374 PA Lyon Hopkinton Mountain Dannemora Keene Valley Plattsburgh Potsdam Saint Regis Falls Saranac e citizens and businesses of the Town of Keene have leveraged their link to the High Peaks and 30 _`11 E458 DC 22B F DC3 FE Wilderness areas through sponsoring mountaineering and Peru hiking events with international participation, promoting DC68 _`11 local foods with a fall festival and making broadband Keeseville DC9N available to tourists as well as local school children. Since South Ausable Paul Forks Colton Smiths 2000, occupancy revenues from the town have increased DC56 DC86 Wilmington DC22 140% and the population has grown 4% over the past Lake Clear FE186 Willsboro decade as new businesses continue to open and existing Saranac 86 Lake DC Essex businesses expand. DC9N DC3 Lake ¦¨§87 Great Sacandaga Walleye Ice Fishing DC58 Fine DC3 Placid DC22 DC73 Elizabethtown Challenge DC3 Cranberry Tupper Westport Lake Lake Keene Every year, over 2,200 anglers go out on the ice for ice DC3 Valley Star _`9 shing competitions on Great . Over 1,500 Lake DC73 9N DC hundred shermen and an additional 1,500 support team

Port Henry members attend the Walleye Ice Fishing Derby alone. _`9 DC30 Similar events occur in other Adirondack communities. Long Lake Newcomb North Crown Point John Dillon Park FE28N Hudson John Dillon Park oers a fully accessible wilderness facility Blue Mountain for those people who would not ordinarily be able to DC74 Ticonderoga Raquette Lake experience the rugged terrain of the Adirondack Park. Lake Schroon Lake Indian Minerva Managed jointly by International Paper Company and Paul DC28 Lake DC22 Inlet Smith’s College, its carefully designed and well-maintained 8 Pottersville DC Hague handicap accessible trails, boat launches, lean-tos and other Brantingham Old North facilities attract an additional and unique user segment, Forge Creek 9N thereby helping to broaden the outdoor recreation base of DC30 DC DC28 the Adirondacks. In 2012, 1,631 people visited the park. Johnsburg ¦¨§87 Whitehall eir testimonies attest to the fact that the bene ts far DC28 Bolton exceed the raw numbers. DC8 Landing Woodgate Lake Speculator _`4 Pleasant Warrensburg Town of Inlet Piseco Lake E22A DC12 F Stony George Inlet’s Parks and Buildings Department Head, Mitch Lee, DC46 Creek Fort 149 DC8 Wells FE Ann speaking at an Adirondack Park-wide local government conference in 2012 said, “Almost 100% of the people who Lake DC30 Luzerne visit Inlet come into contact with the Forest Preserve.” e Hinckley Glens DC10 Falls town promotes at least seven major outdoor recreation Northville events that rely on surrounding public land, and views the FE365 Forest Preserve as an economic asset. Stratford DC9N 40 49 Caroga 50 DC DC Lake DC _`4 Saratoga DC5A Mayfield Springs Utica DC29 DC5 FE169 32 ¦¨§90 DC9P DC Johnstown _`9 9 Emerging Opportunities:

Five towns, two counties work together to build sustainable recreation economy on the Upper Hudson Recreation Hub.

e towns of Newcomb, Minerva, North Hudson, Long Lake and Indian Lake have initiated a collaborative regional approach to establish this region as a “recreation hub” leveraging the State’s recent purchase of Finch Paper lands from e Nature Conservancy. Facilitated by the Adirondack Recreation Strategy Group, these ve towns plan on utilizing their recently expanded recreation assets to expand tourism and outdoor recreation-related business in the area. e hamlets are investment-ready for the establishment of the critical mass of businesses necessary to realize the economic potential of recreation.

Working meeting to establish future planning of the Upper Hudson Recreation Hub

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River Lower Ausable New State Land open for recreation Lake old Henderson Land to be opened in the future C Lake

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Deerland HAMILTONESSEX

Hudson Goodnow Flowage South Pond

Essex Chain Lakes Severance Hewitt SCHROON 28 r Pond ve Ri Loch Muller Blue ntain Mou Blue Mountain Schroon Lake Lake River MINERVA Lake s a Lake Rock e r Durant o Lake Durant Rock on B Lake Huds R iv er er iv Lake River R

an Lake di Lake Adirondack In Francis South Schroon

Minerva 27 Cedar Olmstedville n Adirondack Indian Lake o ESSEX o Lake r Abanakee WARREN h Trout c S Brook Eagle INDIAN LAKE Point North River CHESTER 26 e Sabael k La t Cedar River n ra B

11 Members of the Group The Adirondack Park Recreation Strategy Group was appointed by the Adirondack Partnership to explore ways to improve the economy of the Adirondack Park through leveraging the recreation opportunities offered by the Park’s abundant natural resources. During its deliberations, many of the members moved from interested participants to crusaders for the mission given the group by the Partnership. Members include:

Jessica Darney Buehler – Public Health Educator, Essex County Je Byrne – Vice President, Olympic Region Development Authority Susan Cameron – Events Manager, Regional Oce of Sustainable Tourism Jim Connolly – Deputy Director, NYS Ray Curran – Advisor, Adirondack Sustainable Communities Bill Farber – Chair, Adirondack Partnership; Chair, Hamilton County Board of Supervisors Kimberly Finnigan – Attorney, Cooper Erving & Savage, LLP /Center for Economic Growth Ed Frantz – Adirondack Park Forest Preserve Manager, NYS Department of Transportation Jecinda Hughes – Community Outreach & Byways Coordinator, Adirondack North Country Association Dan Kelleher – Special Assistant for Economic Aairs, NYS Adirondack Park Agency Jason Kemper – Director of Planning, Saratoga County George Leveille – Lacrosse Tournament organizer; former planning board chair; Blue Line Strategy Group Angel Marvin – Planning Consultant Brian McDonnell – Manager Paul Smiths VIC; event organizer (incl Adirondack Canoe Classic) James McKenna – CEO, Regional Oce of Sustainable Tourism Stacy McNulty – Associate Director, Adirondack Ecological Center, SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry, Newcomb Corrie Miller – Executive Director, Association Fred Munk – Supervising Forester Region 6, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Jason Pfotenhauer – Deputy Director, St. Lawrence County Planning Oce Connie Prickett – Communications Director, e Nature Conservancy Karyn Richards – Forest Preserve Coordinator, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Nick Rose – Executive Director, Central Adirondack Partnership Steve Signell – Principal, Frontier Spatial Ross Whaley – Senior Advisor, Adirondack Land Owners Association; Northern Forest Canoe Trail Neil Woodworth – Executive Director,

The Adirondack Partnership is composed of local governments (towns, counties, and villages), educational institutions, and non-profit groups committed to unifying their economies and the environment for the benefit of the Adirondack Park communities.

This document was prepared for the New York State Department of State and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation under Title 11 of the Environmental Protection Fund and the Adirondack Smart Growth Program.