Take a stand to protect Wilderness in the Adirondack Forest Preserve!

Submit comment letters or emails through December 2, 2024.

The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) is accepting public comments on proposed changes to the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan (Master Plan or SLMP). The Master Plan was adopted by APA and approved by the Governor in 1972 to establish mandatory guidelines and limits for the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in its management of the Forest Preserve in the Adirondack Park. In addition to the Forever Wild protections in the State constitution, the Master Plan has been the central management document for the Forest Preserve for the last 50 years.

The Master Plan has only been amended several times since its creation and, with one exception, those amendments have been relatively minor or technical in nature and did not weaken protections for Forest Preserve lands. As its central organizing principle, the Master Plan states that “the protection and preservation of the natural resources of the state lands within the Park must be paramount.”

The proposed amendments currently before APA seriously weaken some provisions, open the door to increased motor vehicle use, and add confusing, unnecessary, and scientifically inaccurate language. Specifically, as described in further detail below, these changes will result in a weakening of the current Master Plan’s requirements relating to: (1) carrying capacity studies mandated as part of the preparation of Unit Management Plans (UMPs); and (2) the opening up of Wilderness, Primitive and Canoe areas to motor vehicle use for people with disabilities.

APA is holding three public hearings and accepting written comments until December 2, 2024. The public hearing dates are: October 22 (virtually) at 11:00am, October 23 (in-person at Whiteface Mountain Ski Area) at 6:00pm, and October 29 (in-person in Albany) at 5:00pm. Details about the public hearings are located on APA’s website.

Proposed Changes That Will Weaken the Master Plan

Required Carrying Capacity Studies Should Remain: Carrying capacity assessments must remain as a mandatory part of the Master Plan in order to determine the physical, biological and social carrying capacity of an area to protect its natural resources from any degradation. The proposed language (on page 11 of the SLMP changes) allowing DEC to vary the “time and resources” dedicated to conducting carrying capacity assessments should be stricken. DEC must dedicate the time and resources necessary to conduct these assessments properly and completely in the development of UMPs. Furthermore, the primary focus of any carrying capacity study should remain as currently required by the SLMP: the protection of natural resources and prevention of degradation of those resources.  The focus should not be changed to elevate recreational use as the primary consideration. Future management actions, after the UMP is adopted, would be developed by DEC over time and could be based upon time and resources available, but this should not be set forth in the SLMP.

Use of motorized vehicles in in the Forest Preserve should not be expanded: APA proposes to expand the use of motor vehicles in the Forest Preserve through a change of the Master Plan. The proposed changes will add a new definition for “Other Power Driven Mobility Device” (OPDMD) and exclude OPDMDs from the definition of a motor vehicle in the Master Plan. However, the definition of OPDMDs includes motor vehicles, golf carts, Segways, and All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), among other types of motorized devices. APA argues that it needs to do these things under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other federal regulations.

This is a misreading of federal law.

Cover page of the document settling the federal lawsuit about access to the Forest Preserve for people with disabilities.

The two organizations that formed Protect the Adirondacks signed an historic settlement of a federal court lawsuit that was reached 25 years ago about access to the Forest Preserve for people with disabilities. At the time, a few individuals with disabilities were trying to use the ADA, which at the time was relatively new law, to gain access to the Forest Preserve with ATVs, which they called “wheelchairs in the woods.” That settlement created a new focus and program at DEC where thousands of new campsites, trails, fishing access piers, privies, among many other features, were made accessible for use by people with disabilities. ATV use by people with disabilities was also managed in certain areas of the Forest Preserve that allowed motor vehicle use, such as areas classified as Wild Forest, under a special permit program (called CP-3) to allow motorized access to those areas for people with disabilities. This settlement also made it clear that use of motor vehicles by the public would still be prohibited in areas classified as Wilderness, Primitive, and Canoe.

Federal accessibility laws and the Department of Justice’s implementing regulations do not require a state agency to make modifications that would fundamentally alter an existing program. Notably, the ADA does not require Federal wilderness areas to be opened to the use of OPDMDs. Under federal law, “Allowing motor vehicles in a nonmotorized area would be a fundamental alteration of the recreation program for that area” and is not required. Likewise, allowing motor vehicles in Wilderness, Primitive and Canoe areas where such use is currently prohibited by Article 14 of the NYS Constitution and the SLMP would be a fundamental alteration of the very program that provides people of all abilities with a challenging primitive experience and protects natural resources. The prohibition of motor vehicles in Wilderness, Primitive and Canoe Areas is fundamental to the character of those Land Classifications. Furthermore, “Article XIV of the State Constitution places severe limitations on uses allowed in the Forest Preserve” (quoting Final Programmatic EIS for the SLMP). The ADA can be applied in a way that is consistent with the protections enshrined in our Constitution and in the SLMP by limiting motor vehicle use by persons with disabilities to other Land Classifications where such use would not fundamentally alter the program.

Protect the Adirondacks has long supported enhancing access to the Forest Preserve for people with disabilities. This should be done in a way that is consistent with the ADA, Article 14 of the State Constitution, and the Master Plan. The Master Plan includes “Guidelines for Management and Use” for each Forest Preserve Land Classification (Wilderness, Primitive, Canoe, Wild Forest, Intensive Use, Historic, and State Administrative). The Guidelines for Management and Use include set forth which Land Classifications allow public use of motor vehicles. If OPDMDs are removed from the definition of motor vehicle as proposed, that means the restrictions for the public use of motor vehicles in each of the Land Classifications are also removed for OPDMDs. The proposed amendments have the potential to vastly expand the use of motor vehicles in Wilderness, Primitive, and Canoe areas. This would be a major step backwards in Forest Preserve management.

We think that APA’s legal analysis supporting the proposed change to the SLMP is weak and that APA and DEC failed to do the necessary work to establish clear rules for the use of OPDMDs in the Forest Preserve. The APA’s proposed language on page 13 of the Master Plan, for instance, claiming that DEC is responsible “for interpreting federal regulations and guidance to determine where the use of [OPDMDs] may be appropriate” is inaccurate, unnecessary, and should be deleted. DEC has no such authority. Moreover, while DEC’s sister agency the Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation has a statewide policy on the use of OPDMDs, DEC has no such written policy for the use of OPDMDs. APA should not amend the Master Plan to give DEC unfettered discretion in allowing the use of OPDMDs on Forest Preserve lands because it would allow DEC to fundamentally alter the nature of Wilderness, Primitive and Canoe Areas, where motor vehicle use is currently prohibited. Doing so would be a complete abrogation of APA’s duties to protect the natural resources of the Adirondack Park.


Make Your Voice Heard

To send an automatic email, see below.

Written comments may be submitted until December 2, 2024 and sent to:

Subject: Public Comment on the 2024 Proposed Amendments to the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan

Megan Phillips, Deputy Director of Planning
Adirondack Park Agency
PO Box 99
Ray Brook, NY 12977

Email: SLMP_UMP_Comments@apa.ny.gov

Talking Points for Public Comments

  1. The primary focus of the mandatory carrying capacity assessments should remain as currently required by the State Land Master Plan (SLMP): the protection of natural resources and prevention of degradation of those resources. The focus should not be changed to elevate recreational use as the primary consideration. The proposed language on page 11 allowing DEC to vary the “time and resources” dedicated to conducting carrying capacity assessments should be stricken.
  2. People with disabilities have and should continue to have access to the Forest Preserve in a way that is consistent with the current “Guidelines for Management and Use” for each of the Land Classifications in the SLMP. The proposed definition of “Other Power Driven Mobility Device” (OPDMD) and other references to OPDMD in the proposed amendments should be deleted. Furthermore, the proposed language on page 13 claiming that DEC is responsible “for interpreting federal regulations and guidance to determine where the use of [OPDMDs] may be appropriate” is inaccurate, unnecessary, and should be deleted. APA should not amend the Master Plan to give DEC unfettered discretion in allowing the use of OPDMDs on Forest Preserve lands because it would allow DEC to fundamentally alter the nature of Wilderness, Primitive and Canoe Areas, where motor vehicle use is currently prohibited. Doing so would be a complete abrogation of APA’s duties to protect the natural resources of the Adirondack Park.


Submit an Automatic Email Public Comment Today

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Thank you very much for your help to protect the Adirondack Park and the Forest Preserve.