Debar Lodge and other dilapidated buildings should be removed and the grounds restored to a wild forest setting.

For 20 years the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has delayed the inevitable – the removal of Debar Lodge and its complex of approximately 20 buildings on the north end of beautiful Debar Pond in the northern Adirondacks. The time is now to clear these buildings and restore this part of the Forest Preserve to a wild forest setting. All of the buildings have suffered extensive damage over the years and some have collapsed. These buildings are an open sore on the Forest Preserve. Recently, Protect the Adirondacks called on the DEC Commissioner to tear down these buildings and to begin the process of rehabilitating these lands.

The land where these buildings are located is classified as part of the 82,000-acre Debar Mountain Wild Forest area. Like many other areas in the Adirondack Park, these lands do not have a completed Unit Management Plan, but DEC did propose a draft Unit Management Plan (UMP) that was released in December 2020. The draft UMP called for the removal of Debar Lodge and the associated buildings in accordance with DEC’s statement in 1979 that the structure were going to be demolished “following the expiration of the exclusive use reservation” in 2004. Click here to read PROTECT’s public comment letter on DEC’s earlier proposals for the land around Debar Lodge.

 

The main building of the Debar Lodge complex (Debar Pond is on the other side of the building in this view). The complex of buildings was purchased in 1979 along with thousands of acres of forests around Debar Pond. Private owners retained use until 2004. The state is now recommending that the site be cleared of all buildings. Although DEC has proposed turning the land into a day use area, it should remain Wild Forest and the forest should be allowed to return after the buildings are removed.

It is long past time for DEC to carry out its stated intent to remove the unconstitutional buildings on the State Forest Preserve located near Debar Pond. The Debar Lodge and the other buildings in the complex are in complete disrepair and there is no plan or funding in sight for them to be maintained as DEC administrative buildings. They should be removed and the site reforested. While there are intense pressures on the State to invest in protecting more lands in the Adirondacks, and there are intense demands on the State’s resources to maintain high quality hiking trails and recreational facilities, the State needs to find a way to prioritize the removal of these buildings.  There is no legal or financial justification for keeping them, and they are going to be more costly and problematic the longer they stay on the land. DEC has an obligation to manage the Forest Preserve in compliance with the Constitution and the State Land Master Plan, which both require removal of these buildings.

 

The boathouse on the edge of Debar Pond collapsed some time ago.

 

Outbuilding associated with Debar Pond has collapsed roof.

 

Another deteriorating outbuilding that is part of the Debar Pond complex.

Active restoration and tree planting would help to speed the process of reclaiming the site and reestablishing a wild forest setting. Once that is accomplished, the naturally-stunning beauty of Debar Pond will be enhanced, and the site will become a low-maintenance location for DEC. Debar Pond will continue to be used by campers, hikers and paddlers who will cherish this wild place for generations. There are very few motorless lakes and ponds in the Adirondacks, despite the huge number of lakes and ponds. The public needs more motorless lakes and ponds that are easily accessible in the Adirondack Park. Given that the State owns the entire pond, Debar Pond is ideal for a motorless lake.

 

Debar Pond should be managed to grow wilder year after year, decade after decade.