Catskill Park Master Plan 2008

Catskill Park State Land Master Plan, revised draft 2008

DEC has released its revised draft master plan for state lands in the Catskills. Among its provisions, the plan proposes to:

• expand the West Kill Wilderness Area to include most of the Hunter Mountain Wild Forest;
• create Windham Blackhead Range Wilderness Area by combining the former Blackhead Range and North Mountain Wild Forests with portions of the Windham High Peak and Black Dome Wild Forests.

The Trail Conference supports the proposal as it is written, but DEC is facing strong pressure to open up some Wilderness trails for mountain bike use, including on Windham High Peak and portions of the Long Path along the Escarpment Trail.

Hikers are urged to support DEC's revised draft Catskill Park State Land Master Plan now.
Public comments are due by May 19 and should be sent to:

Peter J. Frank
Bureau Chief
Forest Preserve Management
NYSDEC
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233-4254

Comments may also be sent to him via email at lfcat@gw.dec.state.ny.us.

Read more about the master plan for Catskill Park at the DEC website here.

The Trail Conference submitted the following specific comments on the master plan:

• We strongly support expanding the West Kill Wilderness Area to include most of Hunter Mountain.
  
• We strongly support creation of the proposed Windham Blackhead Range Wilderness Area, including the proposed western boundary of the Windham Blackhead Range Wilderness Area identified in the CPSLMP, i.e., the east side of the Elm Ridge Trail (the Old Peck Road).

• We support the prohibition of bicycles in Wilderness Areas and, though we do not conceptually oppose creating Primitive Bicycle Corridors in wilderness areas, we have the following concerns regarding two of the four proposed to extend through existing wilderness lands:
• The Overlook Turnpike route on Overlook Mountain has heavy foot traffic and adding bicycles will result in conflicts.
• The Colgate Lake Dutcher Notch Trail is a quiet shady environment which would be inappropriate for bicycle use.
  
• We do support establishment of bicycle trails in the proposed Elm Ridge Wild Forest area but we strongly oppose any plan that would allow bicycles on the Long Path/Escarpment Trail; bicycles are not compatible with the width, grade, sight-lines or intended use of the LP.
  
• The proposal to allow bicycles on all trails in Wild Forest areas unless marked otherwise will lead to confusion with Wilderness areas, where all trails will be closed to bicycles. The casual user not familiar with these regulations would have no way of knowing when he/she enters a Wilderness area, as some are as close as across the trail or road. If this situation is allowed to become fact, a major effort will be needed to mark all Wilderness trailheads against bicycles.

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Windham High Peak Wild Forest, draft amendment to the UMP

In addition to the master plan, DEC released a proposed amendment to the Windham High Peak Wild Forest UMP (Unit Management Plan).

This amendment proposes to allow bicycle corridors in certain areas of the forest that are slated by the Catskill Park Master Plan to become the future Elm Ridge Wild Forest.

The Trail Conference submitted the following comments on the draft UMP:

The Windham High Peaks Wild Forest includes ridge lines and high points (Windham High Peak, Burnt Knob, Acra Point) that we think are inappropriate for recreational use by users other than those who are on foot.  The Long Path, a project spearheaded by the Trail Conference over the course of 75+ years, is the result of hard work over generations by hikers, for hikers, and in collaboration with generations of DEC and state parks officials. We are pleased that the amended Windham UMP preserves the Long Path, and the Escarpment Trail with which it is aligned, for hikers only.

The Trail Conference is not against other recreational users, but we are FOR preserving opportunities for people to enjoy unmechanized and peaceful access to nature.  We also recognize that there are situations where environmental considerations such as steep slopes, short sight-lines or endangered species indicate ‘walkers only’ to be an appropriate course.

• The NY-NJ Trail Conference supports the proposed amendment to the Windham UMP as written.

• We support the amended UMP’s prohibition of mountain bikes in areas of WHPWF that are slated for Wilderness designation in the revised draft of the Catskill Park State Land Master Plan.  The amended UMP for Windham is and should remain consistent with that Wilderness designation.

• The draft UMP provides for additional bike loops in the proposed Elm Ridge Wild Forest, and we support these.

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