For years, Protect the Adirondacks has urged the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) to conduct a carrying capacity study for the Saranac Chain of Lakes. This study is required under the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan and the 2019 Saranac Lakes Wild Forest Unit Management Plan (SLWF UMP). The SLWF includes several constitutionally protected Forest Preserve waterbodies, such as Upper, Middle and Lower Saranac Lakes, Second Pond and Weller Pond.  PROTECT also been advocating for the Governor and the Legislature include $1M of funding in the State budget for DEC to undertake the carrying capacity study. The State Budget is not finalized as of today’s date.

In October 2023, PROTECT sent a formal letter to DEC emphasizing its non discretionary obligation to complete the carrying capacity study. In response, DEC acknowledged that a carrying capacity study “was proposed in the 2019 Saranac Lakes Wild Forest Unit Management Plan” and stated that it was “continuing to evaluate options” for conducting Visitor Use Management or similar studies for Forest Preserve waterbodies, including those in the SLWF. However, after PROTECT filed a Freedom of Information Law request for related records, DEC replied that no such documents existed.

Meanwhile, APA approved the expansion of a large commercial marina on Lower Saranac Lake and authorized another marina project on Lower Fish Creek Pond, which connects to Upper Saranac Lake. These approvals were granted without knowing and assessing the potential impacts on the carrying capacity of the SLWF waterbodies. More information about what a carrying capacity study is and why DEC is required to conduct one is available here. In Thomas Jorling vs Adirondack Park Agency, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and LS Marina, LLC, 214 AD3d 98 (3d Dept. 2023), the Court found that it was “inexplicable” that such a study has not been prepared for Lower Saranac Lake.

 

Marina on Fish Creek Pond that received a permit from APA to expand its operations.

In March 2024, PROTECT filed a lawsuit seeking a court order directing DEC to complete the carrying capacity study and to enjoin DEC and APA from approving any new projects involving docking, mooring, or additional motorized watercraft use in the SLWF until the study is completed. The initial court filings, including the Notice of Petition, Petition, Affirmation of Chad Dawson, Affirmation of Peter Bauer, the PROTECT Letter to DEC, and the DEC letter to PROTECT are available here.

Channel connecting Fish Creek Ponds, and other lakes, with Upper Saranac Lake.

In a decision dated April 4, 2025, the court dismissed the lawsuit. It held that the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan’s language—stating DEC “should” conduct a carrying capacity study—did not create a mandatory legal duty. The court also ruled that the lawsuit was time-barred, as it was not filed within 60 days of the adoption of the SLWF UMP.

PROTECT is currently reviewing the decision and considering an appeal.