PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
November 14, 2008

Contact: David Gibson, AFPA, 518-377-1452, Ext. 1
Neil Woodworth, ADK, 518-449-3870; or 518-668-4447
Michael Washburn, RCPA, 518-891-1002, Ext. 16

State Agrees to Study State Parks for Forest Preserve Status and to expand State Park Preserves and Preservation Areas

Albany, NY – New York State has agreed to conduct a study to determine whether eight State Parks in Forest Preserve counties outside of the boundaries of the Adirondack Park should be considered Forest Preserve, and therefore be subject to protection under Article XIV, the “Forever Wild” clause of the NYS Constitution.

The NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYS OPRHP) has agreed to do the study as part of a settlement with the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks (AFPA), Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) and Residents’ Committee to Protect the Adirondacks (RCPA). The State’s commitment to closely study eight parks within NYS OPRHP’s jurisdiction comes as part of a settlement of claims by the organizations that significant portions of Moreau Lake State Park in Saratoga County legally constitute Forest Preserve lands, and that the Saratoga County Water Authority’s construction in 2007-2008 of a pumping station and water supply intake on the Hudson River, buried water pipeline and associated tree-cutting and road development through parts of that park seriously violated the provisions of Article XIV, which requires that the Forest Preserve “shall be forever kept as wild forest lands.”

The Forest Preserve is not limited to State lands inside the boundaries of the Adirondack and Catskill Parks, but is defined in law as lands owned or hereafter acquired by the State within named counties, with specific exceptions listed in the law. The organizations contended that the impacted lands at Moreau Lake State Park met all the legal tests and none of the exceptions for inclusion within the Forest Preserve.

The study will be conducted by the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation over the next year. It will be based upon relevant documents and sources at NYS OPRHP and other agencies, and will be subject to a sixty day public comment period. The eight State parks to be studied are Crab Island, Cumberland Bay, Higley Flow, Macomb Reservation, Pixley Falls, Point Au Roche, Saratoga Spa, and Whetstone Gulf State Parks.

If NYS OPRHP’s study determines that the land in question does not have Forest Preserve status, then the Office will evaluate the parks for designation as State Park Preserves under Article 20 of the State Parks Law. That law requires NYS OPRHP to manage lands so designated in a Forest Preserve-like manner.

The settlement emerged after months of negotiations with NYS OPRHP and Saratoga County Water Authority officials. Among the provisions of the settlement are the following:

  • Enhanced landscaping at and near the water intake at the Hudson River within Moreau Lake State Park
  • Commitment by NYS OPRHP not to convey easements or fee title in the specified study parks, and to incorporate that commitment in future master plans
  • Consultation with the organizations about any new proposed recreational facilities proposed for the eight parks
  • Acquisition of new lands of wild forest character to add in a park in a Forest Preserve county, preferably at Moreau Lake State Park, at a ratio of 3 acres added for each acre degraded by the Water Authority project
  • $300,000 to be invested in stewardship and educational projects at Moreau Lake State Park
  • A senior official at OPRHP to serve as contact person for the parties, who will prepare reports on progress in the agreement
  • Commitment by the organizations not to litigate on the Water Authority project

“Nothing in this agreement binds any party to the specific criteria and standards for determining the existence of Forest Preserve”, said the Association’s Executive Director David Gibson. “While we still firmly believe that Forest Preserve lands were seriously compromised in violation of Article XIV at Moreau Lake State Park, we also believe that the State has pledged significant commitments that make a repetition of violations here and elsewhere in the State park system far less likely in the future.”

"We stand ready to challenge other serious violations of Article XIV
wherever they occur on State lands in Forest Preserve counties," said
Michael Washburn, Executive Director of the Residents’ Committee to Protect the Adirondacks. “However, we also have an appreciation that the water supply project was nearing completion, that given its progress litigation over the alleged violation would not serve any useful public purpose, and that the State was providing significant mitigation and commitments that will benefit the public at large for years to come."

“What we have done here is we have preserved the integrity of Article XIV of the NYS Constitution, and we have set up a process for a number of parks to get protections equivalent to Forever Wild protection,” said Neil Woodworth, Executive Director of the Adirondack Mountain Club.

The Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to protecting the New York State Forest Preserve and other wild lands and waters through conservation and advocacy, environmental education and responsible recreation.

The Residents’ Committee to Protect the Adirondacks (RCPA) is dedicated to the stewardship and protection of the natural environment and human communities of the Adirondack Park for current and future generations. The RCPA pursues this mission through advocacy, education, legal action, sustainable forestry certification, research, water quality monitoring and grassroots organizing.

Founded in 1901, the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks (AFPA) employs public education, citizen action, partnerships and strong advocacy in support of a vision for the Adirondack Park, which integrates strict protection of the NYS Forest Preserve with sustainable stewardship of private open-space lands for the mutual well-being of the Park’s natural and human communities. AFPA is also dedicated to upholding the integrity of Article XIV, the “Forever Wild” clause of the New York State Constitution .