April 22, 2004

Alexander Ciesluk, Jr.
Deputy Regional Permit Administrator
NYSDEC
21 South Putt Corners Road
New Paltz, NY 12561-1620

RE: Applicant: Crossroads Ventures, LLC, PO Box 267, Mt. Tremper, NY 12457

Project: The Belleayre Resort at Catskill Park

Dear Mr. Ciesluk:

Upon reviewing the Crossroads Ventures DEIS for the Belleayre Resort at Catskill Park, the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) and the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference (Trail Conference) have serious concerns about the size and scope of the proposed project and its impact on surrounding Forest Preserve lands. The DEIS fails to adequately discuss the effect of secondary and induced growth from the project on levels of use of surrounding state Forest Preserve lands, including the Slide Mountain Wilderness and the newly proposed Hunter-Westkill Wilderness Area. The project site lies in the heart of the Catskill High Peaks region. Additionally, ADK and the Trail Conference believe that DEC itself must explore the impact of the proposed resort on the surrounding Forest Preserve lands.

Size and Scope of Proposed Project

The Crossroads Ventures assemblage consists of approximately 1,960 acres of private land located to the east and west of Belleayre Mountain Ski Center. 1,242 acres are located to the east of the Belleayre Ski Center and 718 acres are located to the west of the Ski Center. 573 of the 1,960 acres are to be developed (331 acres on east side and 242 acres on the west side). (DEIS, 1-2)

The eastern portion of the project site is referred to as the Big Indian Plateau. There will be two sub-areas separated by Giggle Hollow. 263 acres to the east of Giggle Hollow will be developed into the Big Indian Country Club, Resort and Spa and 68 acres to the west of Giggle Hollow will be developed into Belleayre Highlands. The 263 acre parcel will be composed of the Big Indian Country Club Championship Signature 18-hole golf course (154 acres) and the Big Indian Resort & Spa (109 acres). The Resort and Spa would include a 150-unit hotel building, 95 detached hotel lodging units in 55 structures, a golf clubhouse, golf maintenance buildings and a wastewater treatment facility. Approximately 3.5 miles of roadway and 292 parking spaces are proposed. The Belleayre Highlands portion of the Big Indian Plateau would include 88 detached hotel lodging units in 22 4-unit structures, tennis courts and a swimming pool. An additional 2.4 miles of roadway would be constructed to access the area. (DEIS, 2-1)

The western portion of the project site will be composed of the Wild Acres Resort, Highmount Estates and a Wilderness Activities Center. The Wild Acres Resort would include another 18-hole golf course (138 acres) as well as a 240-unit hotel, 168 detached housing units in 21 structures, a wastewater treatment facility and golf course maintenance buildings. Approximately two miles of roadway and parking areas accommodating a couple of hundred parking spaces would be constructed. Highmount Estates will be composed of a 21-lot residential subdivision. Lots can range from 2 to 16.8 acres. 2,400 feet of internal roads would be constructed. The Wilderness Activities Center would use existing buildings and one 15 x 25 ft warming hut. (DEIS, 2-2, 2-3)

The eastern portion of the project is located on the eastern portion of the Belleayre Mountain ridgeline and on some of the steep south slopes and a portion of the northern slopes above Lost Clove. The DEIS claims that the “major” development of the Big Indian Country Club and associated buildings will be located on the plateau on the eastern ridge of Belleayre Mountain. Downslope of the plateau there are a series of flat benches connected by areas of steeper slope. Slopes on either side of Giggle Hollow (which separates the eastern portion of the project) are steep. (DEIS, 3-3)

Construction will require grading for access roads, building locations and golf courses. Rock blasting will be necessary to accomplish some of the proposed grading on the project site (Draft DEIS, 3-3).

Impact of the Project on the Forest Preserve

The project site is in close proximity to Forest Preserve lands. According to the DEIS, just in the Town of Shandaken, New York State owns 73 percent of the Town’s total acreage (DEIS, 1-1). Of this percentage, approximately 56,000 acres “are classified as ‘Forever Wild,’ and only 2,000 acres are designated as ‘Intensive Use Area’…” (DEIS, 1-1)

The DEIS claims that the project will “generate a new non-skier market” for its housing and overnight lodging facilities (DEIS, 7-11) According to the DEIS one of the resort amenities generating this non-skier market will be “Catskill Forest Preserve access.” (DEIS, 7-11) The draft DEIS states that additional trails will be constructed on the project site, “some connecting to and augmenting access to existing state trails administered by NYSDEC.” (DEIS, 1-24)

The DEIS refers to the number of people staying at its various amenities as visitor nights per year. According to estimates contained in Appendix 26 of the DEIS, “an estimated 435,860 persons would stay at the timeshare and Club interval ownership units per year.” (DEIS, Appendix 26 p. 4-15) The number of visitors per year or visitor nights per year staying at the various hotels is estimated to be 195,250 (DEIS, Appendix 26 p. 4-21) Additionally, Highmount Estates (21 detached single-family residences) would add another 6,707 people per year or visitor nights per year (DEIS, Appendix 26 p. 4-23). The total estimated number of visitors to the resort per year is approximately 637,800 people. Since Crossroads has unequivocally stated that it will market its close proximity to the Forest Preserve in generating a “non-skier market,” it is of great concern to us that a potentially large number of resort visitors will be encouraged to use surrounding Wilderness and Wild Forest areas.

The Big Indian-Beaverkill Range Wilderness is separated from the Big Indian Plateau portion of the project site only by the private lands in Lost Clove. Close to the project site the unit can be accessed by state hiking trails in Lost Clove and Woodchuck Hollow.

The Slide Mountain Wilderness is located to the south of the project site. This Wilderness area is a very popular wilderness destination in the Catskills. ADK has been unable to find any analysis of the effect of this project on the use levels of this unit in the DEIS. The Slide Mountain Unit Management Plan (UMP) states that the “largest threat to Wilderness character is from recreational overuse on the Slide-Cornell-Wittenburg-Woodland Valley-Panther-Giant Ledge hiking complex.” (Slide Mountain UMP, 2)

While the Slide Mountain Wilderness Area does not adjoin the project site, the most popular trailheads are located within a short drive from the proposed Resort. If the Resort intends to aggressively market access to the Forest Preserve as part of their plan to create a large four-season resort complex, it is axiomatic that many more visitors are likely to be drawn to already popular trails of the Catskill High Peak region (DEIS, 7-11).

For example, visitors can access the network of trails in the unit from a parking area on Fox Hollow Road, which is located approximately 5 miles southeast of the project site off of Route 28 just east of Shandaken. Additionally, the Woodland Valley parking area, which provides access to the well-known Wittenburg-Cornell-Slide Trail is located approximately fourteen miles southeast of the project site. Visitors can also access the popular Giant Ledge and Panther Mountain trails off of Ulster County Route 47 – only a short drive of approximately 8 miles from the eastern portion of the project site. Several other access areas to the unit can be easily reached from the Route 28 corridor.

Other popular destinations in the Catskill Forest Preserve can be easily reached from the project site. To the east of the project site lies the Westkill Wilderness Area and Hunter Mountain Wild Forest. Pending adoption of the draft revision of the Catskill Park State Land Master Plan these two areas will be consolidated to create the Hunter-Westkill Wilderness. This Wilderness Area will be easily accessible for resort visitors via Route 28 and Route 42. Hikers can access the parking areas off of the Spruceton Road, which is located approximately 13 miles northeast of the project site. These areas are already very popular with hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts. Additionally, the scenic Dry Brook Ridge Wild Forest would be just a short drive from the Resort on Route 28.

DEC’s Final Scoping Document for the Proposed Belleayre Resort at Catskill Park, transmitted to Crossroads Ventures LLC on November 3, 2000, states that the “analysis of secondary and cumulative impacts shall include…effects on…Forest Lands, and the added visitors to Forest Preserve Land.” (DEC Final Scoping Document, 20) Upon review of Section 7.0 of the DEIS we have been unable to find any such analysis. Section 1 of the DEIS briefly discusses regional documents such as the Catskill Park State Land Master Plan, the Big Indian-Beaverkill Range Wilderness Area UMP and the Shandaken Wild Forest UMP but fails to concretely discuss the impact of the proposed project on these plans. The DEIS does not analyze the impact of the number of visitors to the Resort on usage levels and the carrying capacity of these areas of the Catskill Forest Preserve.

Furthermore, the DEIS does not at all address the impact of the project on usage levels on popular Forest Preserve units in close proximity to the project site such as the Slide Mountain Wilderness and the newly proposed Hunter-Westkill Wilderness Area. The DEIS apparently fails to discuss the impact of the number of Resort visitors on these Forest Preserve destinations because they do not directly abut the project site. However, these areas are easily accessible by automobile from the Resort via major roadways such as Route 28, Route 42 and Route 47. Therefore, the draft DEIS should address the impact of the number of visitors to the Resort on the carrying capacity of surrounding Forest Preserve lands.

Additionally, DEC’s Final Scoping Document on the proposed project states that Section 3.8.3 of the DEIS entitled “Local and Regional Land Use Plans” states that “the local and regional land use plans to be addressed shall include…DEC management plans.” (DEC Final Scoping Document, 15) Upon review of this section, we notice that there is no detailed discussion of the impact of the proposed project on any of the Catskill Forest Preserve UMPs with the exception of the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center plan. The Catskill Park State Land Master Plan is a regional planning document and the effect of the project on this document must be thoroughly evaluated. Crossroads Ventures itself refers to the authority of the Master Plan as a guideline for Forest Preserve lands in the Catskill Park (DEIS, 1-9, 1-10). As noted above, the DEIS mentions the Master Plan in Section 1 as a regional plan but fails to complete a thorough analysis of the impact of the project on the implementation of the plan in Section 3.8.3.

DEC must evaluate, upon its own initiative, the impact of the proposed project on the surrounding Forest Preserve Lands. Criteria for determining proper management of the Forest Preserve are outlined in the 2003 Draft Revision of the Catskill Park State Land Master Plan. DEC should use these criteria to determine how the various Forest Preserve units will be affected by the proposed development project. DEC must evaluate and analyze the impact of this project on the types and extent of actual and projected public use of the Catskill Forest Preserve. DEC, in evaluating this project must also make an assessment of the impact of the project on the actual and projected public use on the resource, ecosystems and public enjoyment of the area with particular attention to portions of the area threatened by overuse.” (2003 Catskill Park State Land Master Plan, 48)

The Forest Preserve is constitutionally protected so that special attention is paid to the forms of recreation on these lands and the number of people visiting Forest Preserve lands. Hence, the requirement of discussing carrying capacity in Forest Preserve unit management plans. Therefore, DEC, as protector of the Forest Preserve, must require and perform a comprehensive evaluation of the impact of such a large number of people visiting a resort, in the middle of the Catskill High Peaks, on surrounding Catskill Forest Preserve trails.

In regards to the visibility of the proposed project, Crossroads concedes that the project would be at least partially visible from certain Catskill peaks. After a careful review of Appendix 21 of the DEIS, we believe that the applicant has minimized the aesthetic magnitude of these visual impacts. The Catskill Park is one of the areas of statewide significance designated in the Inventory of Aesthetic Resources section of a DEC document entitled Assessing and Mitigating Visual Impacts, dated July 31, 2000. We believe that DEC should carefully assess the results of the visibility study according to the standards set forth in this document.

Pending Expansion of Belleayre Mountain Ski Center

ADK and the Trail Conference observe that there is no discussion in the DEIS regarding the cumulative impact of the construction of the Resort and the pending expansion of the Belleayre Ski Center. The proposed expansion of the ski center, which would be outlined in an update of the 1998 UMP, has not yet been released to the public.

However, according to a March 4, 2003 news article in the Daily Freeman, Belleayre Mountain Ski Center Superintendent, Tony Lanza, stated his vision of a completely renovated ski center at a public meeting held on March 1, 2003. According to the article, Lanza envisions the construction of parking lots down near Route 28, a new main lodge close to the lower lodge and the removal of some smaller chairlifts to make way for bigger and faster equipment to get skiers up the mountain.

It is expected that the proposed expansion of the ski center will be announced in the upcoming months. It is highly likely that the construction of the proposed project and the expansion of the Ski Center will coincide. DEC must take this fact into consideration and evaluate its impact on Belleayre Mountain.

ADK and the Trail Conference strongly feel that the environmental impacts of the development of the proposed Belleayre Resort cannot be accurately addressed without a complete analysis of the updated expansion plans for the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center.

Conclusion

ADK and the Trail Conference believe that the DEIS for the Belleayre Resort at Catskill Park is incomplete in its assessment of the impact of this large scale development project on the Catskill Forest Preserve. We believe that if the proposed resort is to attract an estimated 638,000 visitors per year and aims to market its access to the Catskill Forest Preserve, the DEIS must include a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the impact of the proposed project on the usage and future management of the surrounding Forest Preserve. We also urge DEC to conduct its own assessment of the impact of this project on the future management of the Catskill Forest Preserve.

United in partnership, ADK and the Trail Conference are dedicated to conservation, education, outdoor recreation and protection of New York’s Forest Preserve, parks, wild lands and water. Together, we represent over 70 clubs and over 100,000 hikers, paddlers, skiers and backpackers.

Thank you for this opportunity to present our views on this very important matter. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at (518) 449-3870.

Sincerely,

 

Neil F. Woodworth
Counsel
Adirondack Mountain Club
New York-New Jersey Trail Conference