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New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Lands & Forests MOOSE RIVER PLAINS WILD FOREST Draft Unit Management Plan and Special Management Area Plan for the Seventh Lake Boat Launch Intensive Use Area and River Area Plans for South Branch Moose River, Red River and Otter Brook Towns of Webb and Ohio, Herkimer County; Towns of Inlet, Long Lake, Arietta, Lake Pleasant, and Morehouse, Hamilton County March 2006 GEORGE E. PATAKI, Governor DENISE M. SHEEHAN, Commissioner For further information contact: Keith Rivers, Senior Forester NYS DEC Division of Lands and Forests 7327 State Rout 812 Lowville, NY 13367 315/376-3521 PREFACE................................................................6 I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................1 A. Planning Area Overview ...........................................1 B. Unit Geographic Information .......................................2 C. General Location..................................................2 D. Acreage..........................................................2 E. General Access ....................................................2 F. General History...................................................3 II. INVENTORY, USE AND CAPACITY TO WITHSTAND USE .................4 A. Natural Resources .................................................4 1. Physical....................................................4 2. Biological..................................................11 3. Visual/Scenic Resources .....................................28 4. Critical Habitat ............................................29 B. Man-Made Facilities ..............................................29 C. Past Influences...................................................30 1. Cultural...................................................30 2. Archeological and Historical.................................30 D. Public Use.......................................................32 1. Land Resources ............................................32 2. Wildlife...................................................42 3. Fisheries ..................................................44 4. Water Resources ...........................................45 E. Recreational Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities ................45 F. Relationship Between Public and Private Land......................46 G. Relationship Between MRPWF and Adjacent State and Municipal Lands . 47 1. State Lands Under the Jurisdiction of DEC.....................47 2. State Lands Under the Jurisdiction of DEC and DOT............49 3. Other Lands Under the Jurisdiction of DOT ....................49 4. Town Lands ...............................................49 H. Capacity to Withstand Use ........................................50 1. Physical...................................................54 2. Biological..................................................56 3.Social .....................................................58 I. Education, Interpretation and Research..............................59 III. MANAGEMENT AND POLICY ........................................60 A. Past Management ................................................60 1. Land Management..........................................60 2. Wildlife Management .......................................61 3. Fisheries Management.......................................61 B. Management Guidelines...........................................62 1. Guiding Documents.........................................62 2. Application of Guidelines and Standards .......................63 3. Deed Restrictions...........................................68 4. Deed Provisions ............................................69 C. Administration and Management Principles..........................69 1. Administration.............................................69 D. Management Issues, Needs and Desires ..............................70 IV. PROPOSED MANAGEMENT ACTIONS .................................72 A. Bio-Physical Resources ............................................72 1. Water.....................................................72 2. Soil.......................................................73 3. Vegetation.................................................73 4. Wildlife...................................................75 5. Fisheries ..................................................76 B. Land Protection .................................................77 1. Acquisition................................................77 2. Boundary Lines ............................................77 3. Fire Management...........................................78 4. Administration.............................................78 5. Use Reservations and Occupancies ............................80 C. Man-Made Facilities ..............................................81 1. Existing Facilities ...........................................82 2. New Facilities .............................................105 D. Public Use and Access ............................................118 1. Public Use................................................118 2. Access ...................................................119 3. Access for Persons with Disabilities ...........................120 4. Float Plane Use............................................129 5. Motor Boat Use ...........................................130 6. Proposed Regulations ......................................131 V. SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREA PLANS ...............................132 A. Seventh Lake Boat Launch .......................................132 1. Man Made Facilities .......................................132 2. Public Use ...............................................132 3. Recreational Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities .........133 4. Capacity to Withstand Use ..................................133 5. Past Management .........................................135 6. Current Management ......................................135 7. Proposed Management Actions..............................136 8. Conformity With the State Land Master Plan..................136 B. Historic Great Camps Special Management Area.....................139 VI. SCHEDULE FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND ESTIMATED BUDGET ......140 VII. APPENDICES ......................................................147 Appendix 1 - APSLMP Wild Forest Guidelines Appendix 2 - Facilities Inventory Appendix 3 - Definitions Appendix 4 - Mammals, Reptiles, Birds and Amphibians Appendix 5 - Individual Pond Descriptions Appendix 6 - Classification of Common Adirondack Upland Fish Fauna Appendix 7 - Campsite Assessment and Monitoring forms and Procedures Appendix 8 - Campsite Summary, Closures and Group Designation Appendix 9 - Trail Classifications Appendix 10 - Best Management Practices for State Lands-Invasive Species Appendix 11 - Mountain Bike Trail Standards and Guidelines Appendix 12 - South Branch Moose River Settlement Appendix 13 - Draft Comprehensive Snowmobile Trail Briefing Document Appendix 14 - State Environmental Quality Review Act Requirements (SEQR) Appendix 15 -Miscellaneous Maps and sketches Appendix 16 - Northville-Placid Trail Relocation Alternatives Analysis Appendix 17 - APA Aproval for Designation of Horse Trails Appendix 18 - ADA Project Work Plans Appendix 19 - Bibliography and References Appendix 20 - Reserved for Public Comment Appendix 21 - Historic Great Camps Special Management Area Map Maps ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Planning Team: Keith Rivers - Team Leader- Lands and Forests - Bureau of Forest Preserve Management Rick Fenton - Supervising Forester - Lands and Forests Bruce Lomnitzer - Forest Ranger I - Office of Public Protection Lt. John Ellithorpe - Environmental Conservation Officer - Division of Law Enforcement Wayne Blanchard - Conservation Operations Supervisor III - Division of Operations Tom Atwell - Conservation Operations Supervisor II - Division of Operations Mike Farrell - Conservation Operations Supervisor III - Division of Operations Richard Preall - Fisheries Biologist - Bureau of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources James Farquar - Wildlife Biologist - Bureau of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources Len Ollivett - Habitat - Bureau of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources Scott Orr - Bureau of Real Property Walt Linck - State Land Program Assistant - Adirondack Park Agency Contributors: Tom Martin - Regional Forester - Region 5 Dave Smith - Regional Forester - Region 6 Robert Messenger - Bureau of Forest Preserve Management Brian Finlayson - Bureau of Forest Preserve Management Tom Kapelewski - Bureau of Forest Preserve Management Edwin Sykes - Lands and Forests Amanda Ziegler - Seasonal Laborer Mathew Young - Seasonal Laborer Gary Lee - Forest Ranger, retired MOOSE RIVER PLAINS WILD FOREST DRAFT UMP - MARCH 2006 PREFACE State Lands constituting the Forest Preserve in the Adirondack Park are classified by the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan (APSLMP) according to “...their characteristics and capacity to withstand use.” Those lands administered by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) are classified into seven categories: Wilderness, Primitive, Canoe Area, Wild Forest, Intensive Use, State Administrative and Historic. Each classification carries an explicit set of guidelines which will, when implemented, provide the State lands of the Park with a unique blend of resource protection and public use. There are over one million acres of publicly owned Forest Preserve lands within the Adirondack Park classified as Wild Forest. The APSLMP was required