GRASS RIVER WILD FOREST Unit Management Plan River Area Management Plans for the Middle Branch Grass River and South Branch Grass River NYS DEC, REGION 6, DIVISION OF LANDS AND FORESTS 6739 US Highway 11, Potsdam, NY 13676 [email protected] www.dec.ny.gov January 2019 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 SUBJECli: Grass River Wild Forest Unit Management Plan The Grassi River Wild Forest Unit Management Plan has been completed. The Adirondac~ Park Agency has found the Plan to be in conformance to the Adirondack Park State1 Land Master Plan. The Plan i~ consistent with Environmental Conservation Law, and Department Rules, Regulation!s and Policies and is hereby approved and adopted. Basil Segg~s Commissioner New York State Department of Environmental Conservation 1 Date: --,--_/i_s ..__[I_( __ This page intentionally left blank / 'i .._,) NEW YORK ) STAfEOF Adirondack L---~ORTUNITY. Park Agency KAREN FELDMAN TERRY MARTINO Acting Chair Executive Director RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE ADIRONDACK PARK AGENCY WITH RESPECT TO THE GRASS RIVER WILD FOREST UNIT MANAGEMENT PLAN November 9, 2018 WHEREAS, Section 816 of the Adirondack Park Agency Act (APA Act) directs the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) 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 Plan (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 and provides that the Agency will determine whether a proposed individual unit management plan (UMP) complies with such guidelines and criteria; and WHEREAS, DEC adopted a UMP for the Grass River Wild Forest in 1990 (1990 Plan); and WHEREAS, DEC amended the 1990 Plan in 1993 to provide for bicycle trails, and in 2004 to provide for the Lampson Falls Accessible Trail; and WHEREAS, DEC issued a new draft UMP in September 2016 (2016 Draft UMP) and, pursuant to the State Environmental Quality Review Act, DEC determined that the 2016 Draft UMP would not have a significant adverse impact on the environment and filed notice thereof in the Environmental Notice Bulletin on September 14, 2016 and November 9, 2016; and WHEREAS, DEC held a public hearing on the 2016 Draft UMP, in conjunction with a hearing on the Grass River Conservation Easement Recreation Management Plan, on October 3, 2016 in Colton, NY and accepted public comments on the 2016 Draft UMP from September 14, 2016 until December 15, 2016; and WHEREAS, DEC presented a Proposed Final UMP, dated June 2018 (June 2018 Proposed Final UMP) to the Agency on June 7, 2018; and WHEREAS, the Agency established a public comment period on conformance of the June 2018 Proposed Final UMP with the APSLMP, which ran from June 7, 2018 through July 13, 2018; and Resolution , Grass River Wild Forest UMP November 9, 2018 Page 2 WHEREAS, the Agency received seven written comments during the public comment period which generally supported the June 2018 Proposed Final UMP; and WHEREAS, the Agency reviewed these public comments regarding APSLMP conformance during Agency staff's November 8, 2018 presentation; and WHEREAS, DEC has finalized the new UMP, dated November 2018 (November 2018 Proposed Final UMP), and WHEREAS, the Agency has considered the foregoing recitals, the November 2018 Proposed Final UMP, Agency staff's November 1, 2018 Memorandum, Agency staff's November 8, 2018 presentation, public comment, and the deliberations of Agency Board Members and Designees at the Agency's November 8-9, 2018 meeting. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that pursuant to Section 816 of the Adirondack Park Agency Act, the Agency finds the November 2018 Proposed Final UMP for the Grass River Wild Forest conforms with the guidelines and criteria of the APSLMP; and BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Agency authorizes its Executive Director to advise the Commissioner of Environmental Conservation of the Agency's determination in this matter. Ayes: Karen Feldman, Dr. Chad Dawson, John Ernst, Art Lussi, Bill Thomas, Dan Wilt, Lynne Mahoney, Brad Austin, Robert Stegemann Nays: None Abstentions: None Absent: None Preface The Grass River Unit Management Plan has been developed pursuant to, and is consistent with, relevant provisions of the New York State Constitution, the Environmental Conservation law (ECL), the Executive Law, the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan (“APSLMP”), Department of Environmental Conservation (“Department”) rules and regulations, Department policies and procedures and the State Environmental Quality and Review Act. The State land which is the subject of this Unit Management Plan (UMP) is Forest Preserve lands 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 Grass River Unit. 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, including those State lands which are the subject of this UMP. Specifically, the APSLMP states that: ..... the legislature has established a two-tiered structure regarding state lands in the Adirondack Park. The Agency is responsible for long range planning and the establishment of basic policy for state lands in the Park, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Conservation. Via the APSLMP, the Agency has the authority to establish general guidelines and criteria for the management of state lands, subject, of course, to the approval of the Governor. On the other hand, the Department of Environmental Conservation and other state agencies with respect to the more modest acreage of land under their jurisdictions, have responsibility for the administration and management Grass River Wild Forest – Unit Management Plan – January 2019 i Preface of these lands in compliance with the guidelines and criteria laid down by the APSLMP. The APSLMP places State land within the Adirondack Park into the following classifications: Wilderness, Primitive, Canoe, Wild Forest, Intensive Use, Historic, State Administrative, Wild, Scenic and Recreational Rivers, 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 Grass River Unit. The APSLMP sets forth Guidelines for such matters as: structures and improvements; ranger stations; the use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment and aircraft; roads, jeep trails and state truck trails; 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 which is classified in one of the nine classifications set forth in the APSLMP. The UMPs must conform to the guidelines and criteria set forth in the APSLMP. Thus, UMPs implement and apply the APSLMPs general guidelines for particular areas of land within the Adirondack Park. Executive Law §816(1) provides in part that “until amended, the APSLMP for management of state lands and the individual management plans shall guide the development and management of state lands in the Adirondack Park.” Thus, the APSLMP and the UMPs have the force of law in guiding Department actions. This Plan also serves as a River Area Management Plan in accordance with the WSRRS Act (title 27 of Article 15 of the Environmental Conservation Law, and its implementing regulations found in Part 666. of Title 6 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York (6 NYCRR.) River area management plans are developed by the Department of Environmental Conservation for river areas designated as Wild, Scenic or Recreational to recommend specific actions to protect and enhance all river corridor resources. Grass River Wild Forest – Unit Management Plan – January 2019 ii Contents Preface ............................................................................................................................. i Contents .......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... v I. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 A. Planning Area Overview