SARANAC LAKES WILD FOREST and Lake Placid Boat Launch Lake Flower Boat Launch Upper Saranac Lake Boat Launch Raquette River Boat Launches Draft Unit Management Plan Draft River Area Management Plans Saranac River, Ausable River, and Raquette River Draft Environmental Impact Statement 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 June 2017 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgements Planning Team: Kevin Burns, Forest Ranger Josh Clague, Natural Resources Planner Jon Fieroh, Fisheries Biologist Steven Guglielmi, Forester Lt. Julie Harjung, Forest Ranger Jeffery Hovey, Environmental Conservation Officer Paul Jensen, Wildlife Biologist Joe Lapierre, Forest Ranger Megan McCone, Forest Ranger Doug McCabe, Operations Nick McKay, Operations Kevin Prickett, Adirondack Park Agency Scott VanLaer, Forest Ranger David Winchell, Public Participation Specialist Contributors: Kristofer A. Alberga, Regional Forester Keith Bassage, Forest Ranger (retired) Bob Chatt, Environmental Conservation Officer (retired) Robert Daley, Supervising Forester Chad P. Dawson, Ph.D., SUNY ESF (retired) Phil Johnstone, Operations (retired) Walter Linck, Adirondack Park Agency Mark David Mink, SUNY ESF Rich Preall, Fisheries Biologist (retired) Zachary Odell, SUNY ESF Cindy Trummer, secretary Saranac Lakes Wild Forest – Draft Unit Management Plan – June 2017 i Acknowledgments This page intentionally left blank Saranac Lakes Wild Forest – Draft Unit Management Plan – June 2017 ii Contents Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... i Contents .......................................................................................................................... iii Preface ............................................................................................................................ v I. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 Planning Area Overview .............................................................................................. 1 Unit Geographic Information ........................................................................................ 2 General Location ......................................................................................................... 2 Acreage ....................................................................................................................... 3 General Access ........................................................................................................... 3 General History ............................................................................................................ 3 II. Inventory, Use, and Capacity to Withstand Use ....................................................... 7 A. Natural Resources ................................................................................................... 7 B. Facilities ................................................................................................................ 50 C. Past Influences ...................................................................................................... 51 D. Public Use ............................................................................................................. 53 E. Recreational Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities ....................................... 61 F. Relationship between Public and Private Land ...................................................... 62 G. Capacity to Withstand Use .................................................................................... 67 H. Education, Interpretation and Research ................................................................ 74 III. Management and Policy ......................................................................................... 77 A. Past Management ................................................................................................. 77 B. Management Guidelines ....................................................................................... 84 Saranac Lakes Wild Forest – Draft Unit Management Plan – June 2017 iii Table of Contents C. Administration ....................................................................................................... 88 D. Management Issues, Needs and Desires ............................................................. 89 IV. Proposed Management Actions .......................................................................... 91 A. Bio-Physical Resources ........................................................................................ 91 B. Land Protection ..................................................................................................... 97 C. Facilities ............................................................................................................. 102 D. Public Use and Access ....................................................................................... 142 E. Proposed Regulations ......................................................................................... 149 F. Special Management Areas ................................................................................ 150 V. Schedule for Implementation and Estimated Budget ........................................... 171 Appendices ................................................................................................................. 177 Appendix 1: Facilities .................................................................................................. 179 Appendix 2: Justifications for Fishing and Waterway Access Sites ............................. 203 Appendix 3: Saranac Lake Islands Campsite Photograph Comparison ...................... 207 Appendix 4: Definitions/Acronyms ............................................................................... 213 Appendix 5: Mammals and Birds ................................................................................. 215 Appendix 6: Individual Pond Descriptions ................................................................... 229 Appendix 7: Lakes and Ponded Water Survey Data ................................................... 305 Appendix 8: Citizen Discussion Group ........................................................................ 319 Appendix 9: Open House Public Comments ............................................................... 323 Appendix 10: Bibliography and References ................................................................ 331 Appendix 11: Trail Register Information ...................................................................... 337 Appendix 12: Unit Maps .............................................................................................. 339 Saranac Lakes Wild Forest – Draft Unit Management Plan – June 2017 iv Preface The Saranac Lakes Wild Forest (SLWF) Unit Management Plan (UMP) has been developed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (Department) pursuant to, and is consistent with, relevant provisions of the New York State Constitution, Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) and its implementing regulations, Executive Law, Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan (APSLMP), New York State Department policies and procedures and the State Environmental Quality Review Act. The State lands in this UMP are within the Forest Preserve and protected by Article XIV, Section 1 of the New York State Constitution. This Constitutional provision, which became effective on January 1, 1895 provides in relevant part: “The lands of the state, now owned or hereafter acquired, constituting the Forest Preserve as now fixed by law, shall be forever kept as wild forest lands. They shall not be leased, sold or exchanged, or be taken by any corporation, public or private, or shall the timber thereon be sold, removed or destroyed.” ECL §§3-0301(1)(d) and 9-0105(1) provide the Department with jurisdiction to manage Forest Preserve lands, including the Saranac Lakes Wild Forest. The APSLMP was initially adopted in 1972 by the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) with advice from, and in consultation with, the Department pursuant to Executive Law §807, now recodified as Executive Law §816. The APSLMP provides the overall general framework for the development and management of State lands in the Adirondack Park (Park), including those State lands which are the subject of this UMP. The APSLMP places State land within the Park into the following classifications: Wilderness, Primitive, Canoe, Wild Forest, Intensive Use, Historic, State Administrative, and Travel Corridors, and sets forth management guidelines for the lands falling within each major classification. The APSLMP classifies the lands which are the subject of this UMP as part of the Saranac Lakes Wild Forest. The APSLMP sets forth guidelines for such matters as: structures and improvements; ranger stations; the use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment and aircraft; public roads and administrative roads; flora and fauna; recreation use and overuse; boundary structures and improvements and boundary markings. Executive Law §816 requires the Department to develop, in consultation with the APA, individual UMPs for each unit of land under the Department’s jurisdiction. The UMPs must conform to the guidelines and criteria set forth in the APSLMP. Executive Law §816(1) provides in part