snowvshikers

At the head of the Pine Pond Trail not far from his home in Lake Placid, New York, Jim McCulley revved his sleek black Ski-Doo. A fresh snow had fallen overnight, draping the pines that rise on either side, and Mr. McCulley, the head of the local snowmobile club, looked giddy as he set off.

But his mood instantly soured at the topic of New York State's new plan to reconfigure hundreds of miles of snowmobile trails on public land. The plan, introduced last fall, strove to balance the needs of environmentalists and hikers with those of snowmobilers, but has instead upset many people in both camps.

It is the latest illustration of the constant tension in the Adirondacks - and many state and national parks - between those who prefer the quiet, albeit rigorous, contemplation of nature, and those who like to tackle the outdoors with more fossil-fueled gusto. Drawn up by the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the state Office of Parks and Recreation, the plan does not change the mileage in the network of snowmobile trails but proposes reconfiguring them by closing little-used trails in the sensitive interior parts of the forest preserve and opening so-called community connector trails on its periphery.

Many snowmobile enthusiasts, known as sledders, say the plan does little to reflect the evolution of their sport, which has witnessed a major increase in the girth of the vehicles as riders seek to travel greater distances. While the new plan would widen some trails to nine feet from eight feet, some sledders had hoped for trails up to 12 feet wide - raceways, environmentalists sniffed - to connect communities and allow riders to pass each other safely without slowing down.

"It's all about green bigotry," Mr. McCulley said. "You have a group of people who look upon the working class who ride snowmobiles as people who are not capable of enjoying the forest preserve in the proper manner."

With most trails in the forest preserve now serving hikers and sledders alike, environmentalists worry that the new plan would turn many trails into de facto roads, noting that it calls for large groomers with treads akin to those on tractors or armored vehicles to smooth certain trails.

Until recently, specially equipped snowmobiles were used to groom trails, which after a weekend of heavy activity develop uncomfortable moguls. But lately, snowmobile clubs have bought fully tracked vehicles, commonly called snowcats, to do the grooming. That has drawn protests from environmentalists who complain of trees' being cut back and trails' being widened and flattened, making them feel less wild year-round.

"The foot trail experience is greatly diminished when you're walking on a dirt road in the sun as opposed to walking on a trail under a canopy," said Peter Bauer, executive director of the Residents' Committee to Protect the Adirondacks, a nonprofit group.

The state agencies drew up the 404-page proposal, officially called the Snowmobile Plan for the Adirondack Park, after several years of public meetings and focus groups with local officials, private landowners, environmentalists and sledders.

"The department believes that the plan does provide a balance between the environmental communities and the local communities," said Kimberly Chupa, a spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Conservation. "This is not an actual plan that has anything defined. It's more of a tool for the future to design the snowmobile trail system. Sort of like a blueprint."

Whether plan or blueprint, the recommendations are supposed to inform the decision-making of the Adirondack Park Agency, which governs land use in the six-million-acre park. The agency continually reviews management plans for 38 different sections, or units, of the park, a complex patchwork of private and public lands. Ms. Chupa said the agency would consider whether to remake the snowmobile trails in each unit as its plan comes up for review.

There are some 840 miles of snowmobile trails in the 2.7-million-acre forest preserve, Ms. Chupa said, with many more on private lands. The state allows snowmobiles on designated trails in parts of the preserve classified as "wild forest," but has kept them out of the more restrictive "wilderness areas."

Over the last decade, local officials in the park have seized on the increasing popularity of snowmobiling to pump new life into winter tourism. But they kept hearing from sledders that the trail system in the Adirondacks was lacking; many residents leave the park to tour along the elaborate trail networks of Canada.

George Canon, supervisor of the town of Newcomb, praised the plan for recognizing "for the first time the economic impact that snowmobiling has on the communities of the Adirondacks." He predicted that the plan's call for improved "community connectors" and "town-to-town networks" would benefit the "Adirondack economy during the long winter months."

Snowmobiles have become a flashpoint in the West, especially in Yellowstone National Park. The vehicles were banned at the end of the Clinton administration, which instead favored snow-coaches - vans or buses on large skis or treads. But the Bush administration reversed that decision and, amid lawsuits from environmental groups, has done four environmental studies over the last five years to examine snowmobile use.

The latest study, a preliminary document released in December, would maintain the current limit of 720 snowmobiles a day in Yellowstone, even though current daily use hovers around 250. The park does, however, require that all snowmobiles use noise- and pollution-control technology and that sledders travel with guides, who enforce strict rules.

In New York, it is unclear when, or even if, the snowmobile plan for the Adirondacks will be implemented. Since its release, it has become bogged down in a thicket of technical and legal issues.

Two elements appear to conflict with the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan, the 1972 document that lays out use and zoning rules for the public land in the park. The creation of nine-foot trails, for example, runs headlong into the master plan's decree that snowmobile trails must have the character of a foot path. The Department of Environmental Conservation's policy defines a foot trail as a path not more than eight feet wide. And the master plan clearly prohibits the use of the large groomers on trails, though in recent years some groups have used them anyway. (Groomers are permitted on designated roads in the preserve that allow snowmobiles.)

Now both camps are wrangling over language in the master plan that allows "administrative personnel" to operate motorized vehicles in the preserve for "necessary maintenance." Historically, "administrative personnel" was interpreted to mean state employees. But the new snowmobile plan would let members of snowmobile clubs operate tracked groomers on certain trails on a regular basis. Ms. Chupa of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) said the permission "has to do with our interpretation of what administrative personnel means," adding, however, that the Adirondack Park Agency is the "final arbiter regarding interpretation" of the master plan.

"At this point in time we're bound by the State Land Master Plan as it's written," he said, "and we're making our decisions in accordance with the plan."

Environmental groups argue that the introduction of the larger groomers in the preserve would require revision of the master plan. They seem confident that the extensive public hearings and environmental scrutiny inherent in that process would pose an insurmountable hurdle.

Beyond the possible impact on the trails, some environmentalists also complain about the air pollution and noise snowmobiles create.

"In the 1970s and early 1980s, there was a cheerful coexistence between cross-country skiers and snowmobilers," said Neil Woodworth, executive director of the Adirondack Mountain Club, a nonprofit group. "But with the more powerful engines, they're operating much faster, and they just sort of dominate the trail network. When you have a number of sleds, the stench is such that the backcountry atmosphere is lost."

In recent years, forest rangers and state environmental officers have cracked down on both town officials and snowmobile club members who have illegally widened snowmobile trails and erected bridges on public property to make way for bigger sleds.

But Mr. McCulley, the head of the snowmobile club here in Lake Placid, has undertaken his own campaign to show the destruction of trails by hikers and skiers. He has posted videotapes on http://www.YouTube.com of trails in [the] spring, when hordes of hikers leave them looking like ribbons of mud. Other snowmobile enthusiasts, though less critical of the plan, feel that they gave more than they got. "Right from the start we knew it was all about compromise, and they threw compromise out the window," said Jim Jennings, executive director of the New York State Snowmobile Association, referring to environmental groups.

Mr. Jennings, who wanted the community connector trails to measure at least 10 feet across, believes snowmobilers compromised on safety. "Snowmobiles are four feet wide," he said. "There's a lot more traffic, and you have two four-foot-wide snowmobiles meeting each other on the trail."

With declining snowfalls in recent years, some environmentalists have their eye on what they see as a greater threat - all-terrain vehicles, which are now banned from all state lands in the park.

"If, because of climate change, snowmobiling is less likely as a recreational use, there will be great political pressure to allow ATV's in the forest preserve," Mr. Woodworth said. "And ATV enthusiasts like the power and speed and spitting mud. It's almost like a war on the environment."

[State of New York] Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan (APSLMP) - "... June 2001 reprinting is the text of the [November] 1987 plan ..."

Entire Plan (3.3 Mb pdf) Because of the large size, this file may take longer to download on older computers or those using a dial-up internet service provider.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Denise Sheehan and New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) Commissioner Bernadette Castro have released the Snowmobile Plan for the Adirondack Park/Final GEIS. The Plan is a supplement of the State of New York Snowmobile Trail Plan (Statewide Snowmobile Plan), adopted by OPRHP in 1989. It describes concepts for establishing a comprehensive and integrated Adirondack Park snowmobile system and standards for developing and maintaining trails on DEC managed lands in the Park, consistent with Article XIV of the State Constitution and respecting the rights and interests of private landowners.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Lands & Forests

Inholding - An inholding is a parcel of land in a unit of the National Park System that was authorized before July 1959 or fiscal year 1960. The National Park Service pursues, subject to the availability of funds appropriated for the acquisition of inholdings, an opportunity-purchase program by acquiring interests in inholdings offered for sale by landowners. The Service will seek to acquire inholdings by condemnation only when necessary to prevent land use that would damage resources that the unit was established to protect. Such condemnation action or the purchase of an inholding for an amount that exceeds $150,000 and/or the appraised value must be cleared by the appropriate House and Senate Committees. Costs related to the acquisition of lands by exchange are incurred for title and appraisals, required surveys and clearances, and equalization payments when necessary. Need: As of September 30, 1998, there were approximately 2,281 tracts in 32 units identified as inholding areas, totaling 29,013 acres with an estimated value of approximately $255 million. The funds requested will be used, (1) to acquire inholdings, and (2) to cover costs (other than land acquisition administration costs) for title, appraisal, surveys and equalization payments required for exchanges in those areas for which acquisition funds are not otherwise available. - Justification of Program and Performance. Activity: Federal Land Acquisition, National Park Service http://home.nps.gov/applications/budget/land_and_state/laaq-nar.pdf (Page 7 of 42 pages) Other references to the way the National Park Service deals with inholdings: 1. Montezuma Castle National Monument http://www.nps.gov/archive/moca/protas/chap6.htm 2. Outdoor Recreation / Socioeconomic Environment - Volume 2 - Draft Heritage Study and Environmental Assessment [excerpt]: Tennessee has recognized the following priority issues related to public recreation areas: identifying and mitigating threats to natural resources that adversely affect the quality of recreation, increasing the delivery and quality of recreation services at the local level, and increasing federal, state, and local government funding for recreation. The state Conservation Strategic Plan focuses on the first of these issues, saying that "Emphasis will he placed upon securing adequate boundary control for existing Department lands including the consideration of high priority inholding and buffer land acquisition." http://www.cr.nps.gov/delta/volume2/outdoor.htm 3. Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley (Connecticut) IV. Vision Statement and Goal (excerpt): G. Recreation Goal number 1 (of 9). Pursue active land acquisition programs, emphasizing key inholding in existing management areas and access to streams and water bodies. ... V. Detailed Strategies A. Land Use. Although the Corridor includes the entire area of twenty-five towns, the land use vision is to protect those key landscape features that make the region unique or attractive to residents and tourists alike, and to minimize those elements that have a visually or environmentally degrading impact. Thus, emphasis necessarily must be placed on landscape that is significant, identifiable and amenable to be protected, enhanced, or controlled through available programs and management techniques. Key examples include: 1. Traditional New England Villages. Often labeled "Hill Towns" or Colonial Villages." With their white churches and old homes often clustered around a green, these villages within towns are popularly perceived as a key symbol of the New England landscape. Appropriate protection tools include historic districts, development control in areas abutting them, and zoning and/or acquisition. ...6. ...b. Natural segments (those reaches of rivers outside developed areas and characterized by forested or agricultural land) Regulation can include existing inland wetland controls that protect floodplain areas, perhaps also including provision of a buffer belt. Sample buffer guidelines could include adjoining area with a +15% slope, maintenance of a 50 foot vegetated belt where presently existing, no septic fields within 100 feet of inland wetland, a minimum 100 foot river frontage for new lots, etc. Selective acquisition to protect scenic areas or where public access is deemed appropriate also should be utilized. Primary emphasis must be placed on the two major streams in the region, the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers. In addition, a large number of attractive secondary streams also deserve attention, including the Willimantic, Fenton, Natchaug, Mt. Hope, French, Five Mile, Yantic, Pachaug, and Moosup Rivers plus the two Little rivers and some major brooks such as Bigelow Brook. http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/nhc/quinebaug.htm 4. Preserving Nature in the National Parks: A History (Chapter 3) Perpetuating Tradition: The National Parks under Stephen T. Mather, 1916-1929 (continued) (excerpt) Indeed, from the first, the Service made acquisition of private lands a high priority. Consolidation of all lands within park boundaries would allow control over development in the parks. To reduce the threat of inappropriate development, the Park Service continually sought to acquire inholdings, accepting them as direct donations, purchasing them, or swapping them for federal lands elsewhere. [68] The 1918 Lane Letter declared that privately owned lands "seriously hamper the administration of these reservations" and advocated their elimination. Those in "important scenic areas" had the highest priority for acquisition. But for nearly a decade Congress failed to appropriate funds for buying inholdings, thereby forcing the Service to rely on private donations for such purchases. Mather himself contributed substantially to land acquisition in Sequoia and other parks, such as Yosemite and Glacier. Under the Service's prodding, Congress in 1927 and 1928 began to make regular appropriations for inholding purchases, but with the requirement that these funds be matched by private donations. In 1929, shortly after Mather's resignation, Director Albright predicted that reliance on private funds would not be satisfactory because potential donors felt that acquisition of park lands was the government's responsibility. Although Mather had secured some congressional funding, the inholdings remained, in Albright's words, one of the Service's "greatest problems"-a threat to the parks' integrity, and a "distinct menace to good administration and future development." [69] Albright's remarks foreshadowed a long, still-ongoing struggle to control inholdings. http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/sellars/chap3c.htm 5. Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive Management Plan / EIS - Affected Environment (continued) (excerpt) Proposed Protection Methods - Proposed protection methods for the nonfederal areas within the park include long- and short-term strategies. Short-term protection strategies include land-use regulation at Wawona. Section 10(e) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act allows federal agencies to enter cooperative agreements with states and local governments in the administration of a river segment. While no incorporated cities exist within the corridor and no local zoning guidelines have been issued by the Secretary, it is the intent of the National Park Service to work with Mariposa County during the development of any future zoning ordinances to ensure that such zoning is consistent with the purposes of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Under all alternatives, the National Park Service would continue to assist, advise, and cooperate with Mariposa County or its political subdivisions, private landowners, private organizations, and individuals to protect and manage private lands along the Merced River and to protect ORVs where nonfederal lands are within the river corridor. Land-use regulation will provide the primary protection at Wawona, along with opportunity purchases and land exchanges. Private property within the river corridor is not zoned under any of the alternatives of the Merced River Plan. The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to acquire lands and interests in lands within the authorized boundaries of the main stem and South Fork of the Merced River under Section 6(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and to use condemnation to acquire easements on lands within the corridor when necessary. The vast majority of lands within the river corridor are owned in fee title by the United States, and the National Park Service has no intention of acquiring additional lands in fee title by condemnation under authority of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. However, it is the intent of the National Park Service to work cooperatively with private landowners whenever possible within the corridor to ensure that ORVs of the river segment are protected and enhanced. Yosemite National Park is identified as an inholding area, and there is no acquisition ceiling for the park. Priorities include acquisition of tracts in Wawona within the Merced Wild and Scenic River corridor, and undeveloped land adjacent to open public areas. http://www.nps.gov/archive/yose/planning/mrp/2000/html/mrpch3a.html 6. Joshua Tree National Park [excerpt] Organizations like the Wildlands Conservancy and the National Park Land Trust have stepped in to help the park acquire inholding properties from willing sellers. Through their efforts, thousands of acres of private lands have been added to the park, ensuring both their permanent protection and public access. The National Parks and Conservation Association has worked to raise public awareness of national park issues at Joshua Tree and elsewhere throughout the California Desert. http://www.nps.gov/parkoftheweek/jotr.htm Source of this information: Google search results: 1-102 English pages from nps.gov for acquisition OR acquire "inholding" with Safesearch on. 7. Lands within the proclaimed boundaries of a national forest or national grassland that are owned by some other agency, organization or individual. See also Alienated and Alienated Land. - Appendix H (Biological Assessment and Evaluation for Revised Land and Resource Management Plans and Associated Oil and Gas Leasing Decisions) http://www.fs.fed.us/ngp/final/pdf_feis/Appendix_H.pdf 8. Privately owned land inside the boundary of a national refuge. http://pacific.fws.gov/planning/LPOccp/v2.pdf 9. A parcel of land in other ownership (State, private, other Federal agency) surrounded by National Forest System land. - USDA Forest Service Roadless Area Conservation, Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) "Source documents for these definitions include: proposed Road Policy, proposed Planning Regulations, Interim Roads Rule Environmental Assessment, and Recreation Opportunity Spectrum Planning Guide." http://roadless.fs.fed.us/documents/feis/glossary.shtml 10. Land belonging to one landowner that occurs within a block of land belonging to another. For example, small parcels of private land that occur inside National Forest. - The Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (FEMAT) http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/ Chapter 9 Glossary http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/Chapter_9.htm NBII - The National Biological Information Infrastructure. Also spelled "in holding." See also Alienated Land.

Road - Constructed or evolved transportation route that is normally maintained for regular use (except during periods of closure) and that can be reasonably and prudently driven by motorized or mechanized motorized vehicles. (DOI/BLM) http://www5.or.blm.gov/burns/Planning/AndrewsSteensRMP/ProposedRMP/Appendices/14.Appendix%20M%20PRMP.pdf 2. Shall include the terms street, avenue, way, court, drive and the like. http://inetdocs.loudoun.gov/b&d/docs/1972ordinance_/article10defini/article10defini.dom 3. A motor vehicle travelway over 50 inches wide, unless designated and managed as a trail. A road may be classified, unclassified, or temporary (36 CFR 212.1). a. Classified Roads. Roads wholly or partially within or adjacent to National Forest System lands that are determined to be needed for long-term motor vehicle access, including State roads, County roads, privately owned roads, National Forest System roads, and other roads authorized by the Forest Service (36 CFR 212.1). b. Temporary Roads. Roads authorized by contract, permit, lease, other written authorization, or emergency operation, not intended to be a part of the Forest transportation system and not necessary for long-term resource management (36 CFR 212.1). c. Unclassified Roads. Roads on National Forest System lands that are not managed as part of the Forest transportation system, such as unplanned roads, abandoned travelways, and off-road vehicle tracks that have not been designated and managed as a trail; and those roads that were once under permit or other authorization and were not decommissioned upon the termination of the authorization (36 CFR 212.1). - Shasta-Trinity National Forest Roads Analysis Report, Appendix A: Forest-level Roads Analysis Glossary, USDA Forest Service http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/shastatrinity/documents/st-main/publications/road-analysis/10-appx-a.pdf 4. A motor vehicle travelway over 50 inches wide, except those designated and managed as a trail. A road may be classified, unclassified, or temporary. - USDA Forest Service Roadless Area Conservation, Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) "Source documents for these definitions include: proposed Road Policy, proposed Planning Regulations, Interim Roads Rule Environmental Assessment, and Recreation Opportunity Spectrum Planning Guide." http://roadless.fs.fed.us/documents/feis/glossary.shtml