SENTINEL RANGE WILDERNESS AREA and Bartlett Primitive Area Draft Unit Management Plan Draft 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 November 2017 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments Planning Team: Robert Daley Forester 2 Division of Lands & Forests Chris Kostoss Forest Ranger 1 Forest Protection and Fire Mgt. Robert Praczkajlo Forest Ranger 1 Forest Protection and Fire Mgt. James Pinheiro Biologist 1 (Fisheries) Bureau of Fisheries Paul Jensen Biologist 1 (Wildlife) Bureau of Wildlife Doug McCabe Conservation Operations Supv. 2 Division of Operations Kathy Regan Deputy Director, Planning Adirondack Park Agency Steven Guglielmi Forester 1 Division of Lands & Forests Staff Contributors: Brian Finlayson (retired) Cartographic Tech. 3 Division of Lands and Forests Thomas Martin Natural Resources Supervisor Regional Administration Kristofer Alberga Forester 3 Division of Lands and Forests Mike Grove (retired) Real Property Spec. 1 Bureau of Real Property Sentinel Range Wilderness Area – Draft Unit Management Plan – November 2017 i This page intentionally left blank Sentinel Range Wilderness Area – Draft Unit Management Plan – November 2017 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 ................................................................................................ 2 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 ......................................................... 54 F. Relationship between Public and Private Land .............................................. 55 G. Capacity to Withstand Use............................................................................. 56 III. Management and Policy ........................................................................................... 63 A. Management Guidelines ................................................................................ 63 B. Administration and Management Principles ................................................... 67 C. Management Issues, Needs and Desires ...................................................... 72 IV. Proposed Management Actions ............................................................................... 73 A. Bio-Physical Resources ................................................................................. 73 B. Land Protection .............................................................................................. 84 C. Facilities ......................................................................................................... 84 Sentinel Range Wilderness Area – Draft Unit Management Plan – November 2017 iii Table of Contents D. Public Use and Access .................................................................................. 98 E. Proposed Regulations .................................................................................. 103 F. Bartlett Primitive Area ................................................................................... 104 VI. Schedule for Implementation and Estimated Budget ............................................. 105 Bibliography and References ...................................................................................... 109 Appendices ................................................................................................................. 117 Appendix A - Acronyms ............................................................................................... 119 Appendix B – Facilities ................................................................................................ 121 Appendix C – Rare Communities and Species ........................................................... 125 Appendix D – Birds...................................................................................................... 127 Appendix E – Adirondack Sub-Alpine Fir Forest Bird Conservation Area ................... 133 Appendix F – Individual Pond Descriptions ..................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Appendix G – Ponded Water Survey Data .................................................................. 141 Appendix H – Classification of Common Adirondack Upland Fish Fauna ................... 143 Appendix I – State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) ......................................... 145 Appendix J – Public Comment .................................................................................... 147 Appendix K – Unit Maps .............................................................................................. 149 Sentinel Range Wilderness Area – Draft Unit Management Plan – November 2017 iv I. Introduction A. Planning Area Overview The Sentinel Range Wilderness Area (SRWA) is located in the northeast portion of the Adirondack Park in the towns of Jay, Keene, North Elba, and Wilmington in Essex County. The namesake of the unit, the Sentinel Range, is a prominent mountain range in the region. The SRWA covers 23,874 acres. The Bartlett Primitive Area passes through the western edge of the SRWA. Much of the unit boundary is along public roads, rivers, or private property lines. The SRWA is bounded on the northwest by Whiteface Mountain Ski Area, Wilmington Notch Campground, and McKenzie Mountain Wilderness Area; on the northeast and east by private lands; on the south by the High Peaks Wilderness Area, and on the west by the Saranac Lakes Wild Forest and private lands. Other nearby Forest Preserve units includes the Hurricane Mountain Wilderness Area, Jay Mountain Wilderness Area, and the Wilmington Wild Forest. Most of the unit is undeveloped and provides outstanding opportunities for solitude and unconfined recreation. The majority of recreational use occurs on the periphery of the unit near Pitchoff Mountain and in the vicinity of Copperas and Owen ponds. Most of these users are day users but camping is popular in the Copperas Pond area. Overall use levels are low to moderate compared to other wilderness areas in the region. B. Unit Geographic Information The SRWA is a forested, mountainous area with relatively few ponds and wetlands. The area is characterized by steep slopes and numerous small streams that drain to larger rivers outside the unit. Named mountains is the SRWA include: Kilburn, Pitchoff, Sentinel, Slide, and Stewart. The SRWA is made up of the following parcels: Essex Tract, Henry’s Survey Lots 232 and 233. Portions of Lots 236, and 237 Jay Tract Lots 6, 24, 25, 26, and 27. Portions of Lots 28, 32 and 65 Mallory Grant Portions of Lots 11, 12, and 14 Old Military Tract, Townships 1 & 2, Richard’s Survey Sentinel Range Wilderness Area – Draft Unit Management Plan – November 2017 1 I. Introduction Lots 10, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 42, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, and 58. Portions of Lots 35, 36, 37, 38, 59, 60, 64 and 94 Old Military Tract, Township 11, Richard’s Survey Portions of Lots 359 and 360 Old Military Tract, Township 12, Thorn’s Survey Lots 121, 123, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 141, 142,143, 144, 145, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, and 154. Portions of Lots 1, 132, 139, and 146 Whiteface Mountain Tract Portions of Lots 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 The unit is covered by the Keene Valley and Lake Placid 7½ x 15 minute USGS quadrangle maps. C. General Access Access to the SRWA is gained along the following roads where they form the boundary of the unit. State Route 73 in Keene and North Elba. State Route 86 in North Elba and Wilmington. River Road (County Route 21) in North Elba. Bartlett Road in Jay, Keene, and Wilmington. Mountain Lane in North Elba. Alstead Hill Lane in Keene. Hamlets near the SRWA include Keene, Lake Placid, Upper Jay, and Wilmington. Nearby population centers include Albany, New York (130 miles); New York City (280 miles); and Montreal, Quebec (100 miles). State Highways provide easy access to the SRWA from Interstate 87 (Northway). D. General History The lands comprising the SRWA were originally part of the “Old Military Tract” (Townships One, Two, Eleven and Twelve). The Old Military Tract was land that was set aside by the state in 1786 as a “memorial of public