New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Article 14

Peter Bauer: DEC’s Revised Approach to Forest Preserve Long Overdue

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Forest Preserve SignThe Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has organized a working group to assist the department in revising and amending a series of policies for New York State Forest Preserve trails stewardship. The DEC organized this working group through the membership of the longstanding Forest Preserve Advisory Committee (FPAC). The working group includes members from trails building organizations, local government, and the environmental community.

The Department stressed that this is a unified management effort for the entire Forest Preserve, and the working group includes members from the Adirondack and Catskill Parks. [Read more…] about Peter Bauer: DEC’s Revised Approach to Forest Preserve Long Overdue

Peter Bauer: 12 Ways Indian Lake Town Supervisor Brian Wells Gets The Historic Forever Wild Decision All Wrong

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Article 14, Section 1 New York State Constitution Forever Wild clauseIn an op-ed run in the Albany Times Union on August 1, 2021, and in the Adirondack Almanack, Town of Indian Lake Supervisor Brian Wells got many things wrong about the recent historic forever wild court decision.

He makes serious accusations, yet he twists, bends, and distorts reality to fit his narrative. The one thing that he got right was that “Class II Community Connector Snowmobile Trails” were struck down by New York’s highest court because they violated Article 14, Section 1, of the State Constitution, the forever wild clause.

Here are a dozen ways that Brian Wells plays fast and loose with the truth. [Read more…] about Peter Bauer: 12 Ways Indian Lake Town Supervisor Brian Wells Gets The Historic Forever Wild Decision All Wrong

The End of Arbitrary Powers to Dam Adirondack Rivers

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Assemblyman John Ostrander, chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee on River Regulation, left, with Paul Schaefer, center, representing Friends of the Forest Preserve and the Adirondack Moose River CommitteeThe State Legislature has just adjourned, but on a good many nights this past month I grew sleepy watching legislative TV or legislative proceedings on the internet. For the non-debate pieces of legislation, meaning when the legislative majority is not allowing minority debate on bills, the viewer is treated to the following exchanges in a monotone, one after the other:

The speaker or his representative, or the Senate president or her representative: “The clerk will read the bill.”  The clerk: “a bill to” …whatever it does.  The speaker or his representative: “The clerk will read the final section.” The clerk: “this act shall take effect immediately.” The speaker, president or their representative: “The vote: 63 in favor. The bill is passed.” All of that has taken less than ten seconds. Next. [Read more…] about The End of Arbitrary Powers to Dam Adirondack Rivers

NY’s Highest Court Rules Big Snowmobile Trails On Forest Preserve Violate Constitution

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Article 14, Section 1 New York State Constitution Forever Wild clauseThe New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, has issued a 4-2 decision today in favor of Protect the Adirondacks that upheld Article 14, Section 1, of the New York State Constitution, the famed “forever wild” clause.

In 2013, Protect the Adirondacks sued the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Adirondack Park Agency (APA) alleging that construction of “Class II Community Connector” snowmobile trails on the Adirondack Forest Preserve violated Article 14, Section 1, due to excessive tree cutting and destructive changes to the land. [Read more…] about NY’s Highest Court Rules Big Snowmobile Trails On Forest Preserve Violate Constitution

DEC’s Efforts To Lobby For A Mine In Adirondack Wilderness

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NYCO MinesThis is the last article in a 5-part series on possible amendments in 2020 to Article 14, Section 1, of the NYS Constitution, the famed forever wild provision.

This article looks back at the amendment for NYCO Minerals, Inc., in 2013, that authorized exploratory drilling on 200 acres in Lewis Lot 8 in the Forest Preserve in the Jay Mountain Wilderness. This amendment was barely approved, passing by the narrowest margin of any successful Article 14 amendment. The NYCO Amendment was different from all other amendments to Article 14 because it marked the first time that a private corporation used the amendment process to seek and obtain Forest Preserve lands for no other purpose than benefiting its bottom line. Every other amendment had a public benefit and purpose. The NYCO Amendment did not. [Read more…] about DEC’s Efforts To Lobby For A Mine In Adirondack Wilderness

Hamilton County’s Tower Plans For Cathead Mountain

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Cathead Mountain communications towerThis is the fourth article in a series that looks at three possible constitutional amendments to Article 14, Section 1 that are being debated in 2020.

This article looks at the issue of utilizing Forest Preserve lands around Cathead Mountain, in the south edge of the Silver Lake Wilderness area, in the Adirondack Park in Hamilton County, to locate a new emergency communications tower, similar to such towers on Blue Mountain and East Mountain. [Read more…] about Hamilton County’s Tower Plans For Cathead Mountain

Camp Gabriels: A Former Prison On ‘Forever Wild’ Land

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Camp Gabriels MapProtect the Adirondacks has reviewed the options for the future of the Camp Gabriels complex, a former state prison in the Town of Brighton in Franklin County in the northern Adirondack Park.  The site is located between Saranac Lake and Paul Smith’s just outside of Gabriels, in Franklin County.

The land that the prison complex was built upon is Forest Preserve, protected under NYS Constitution Article 14, Section 1 (the “Forever Wild” provision). The prison complex was part of a state purchase in 1982 of over 224 acres. This facility has been dormant since 2009 when the state closed the prison camp. [Read more…] about Camp Gabriels: A Former Prison On ‘Forever Wild’ Land

The Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Facility and Forever Wild

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Mt. Van Hoevenberg courtesy PROTECTThis is the second article in a 5-part series that looks at amendments to Article 14, Section 1, the famed forever wild provision, of the State Constitution. This article looks the Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Winter Sports Complex in the Adirondack Park, managed by the Olympic Regional Development Authority. The first piece looked at the recent history of Article 14 amendments.

Protect the Adirondacks has long believed that an amendment to Article 14, Section 1 is needed for the Mt. Van Hoevenberg Winter Olympic Sports Complex currently managed by the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA). At Mt. Van Hoevenberg, ORDA currently manages 1,220 acres +/- of Forest Preserve classified as Intensive Use by the Adirondack Park Agency (APA). Abutting these lands is 319 acres of lands owned by the Town of North Elba, Essex County. This complex houses the Olympic bobsled and luge track, cross-country skiing and biathlon trails, and associated facilities. [Read more…] about The Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Facility and Forever Wild

Forever Wild: New Constitutional Amendments Being Considered

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Article 14, Section 1 New York State Constitution Forever Wild clauseArticle 14, Section 1, of the New York Constitution, the famed “forever wild” provision, has been amended 16 times since 1938.

It has been amended five times since 2007, making this period the most active and intensive in Forest Preserve history for amendments.

Several Article 14, Section 1 proposed amendments are being currently being drafted and organized by the Department of Environmental Conservation and administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. [Read more…] about Forever Wild: New Constitutional Amendments Being Considered