Latest
News:
-
8/14/02: DEC’s landmark “Treaty
Line UMP” ATV trail proposal denied by Albany.
-
New meeting March 2002; comment
periods open on other UMP processes.
-
Region 7 Draft Recreation Plan
proposes ATV trail development ban.
Last
update 1/13/03. Click reload/refresh to check for update if you have
visited before.
What is a UMP, and
why should I as a trail rider care?
A Unit Management Plan (UMP) is a
document that guides the Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in
how it shall manage any piece of state land under its jurisdiction for
conservation, recreation access and resource extraction values. Each UMP
has to be updated every so many years and its content is developed with
the cooperation of the public. By participating in the UMP planning
process, you can make sure your interest in OHV recreation is
represented in any given plan. With enough input by OHV enthusiasts
during a UMP process, it is possible to get OHV access authorized for
any subject unit. Without our participation, you can assure that OHV
interests will be overlooked in each DEC plan.
Plans in Progress
The most recent UMP processes will be
listed below. You can find specific information on how to participate by
following each link. This is not a comprehensive list of UMPs in process
as there very many, but only listed are the ones in which the character
of the unit and the location is such that participation has a chance to
yield results in the form of ATV access or trail development. We will
not waste your time with UMPs for units where it is simply impossible
due to DEC land use prohibition rules, or unlikely for political reasons
(strong anti-access group opposition).
Lake
George Wild Forest March 2002, DEC Region 5, Warren
County.
Chautauqua
County State Forests January 2002, DEC Region 9,
Chautauqua County.
“Most
Alarming” Award Recipient>>> Region
7 Draft Recreation Plan December 2001, proposes to ban ATV
trails from being developed in future UMPs. This is the partial location
of the failed Treaty Line ATV trail proposal, see link below.
Colton
State Forest June 2001, DEC Region 6, St. Lawrence
County.
Brasher
State Forest May 2001, DEC Region 6, St. Lawrence
County.
Watson’s
East Triangle May 2001, DEC Region 6, Lewis County.
Treaty
Line Unit of State Forests March 2000, DEC Regions 4
& 7, NY’s Southern Tier.
[Note that as of 8/14/01 the historic trail proposal in the TLUMP
has been denied by DEC. Link through to learn the details in this
matter. See also the controversial Region
7 Draft Recreation Plan (752kb PDF format) which proposes to
specifically prohibit even the proposition of ATV access in any future
land-use planning in Region 7 (no ATV access proposals, including TLUMP,
have been successful in R7 prior to this Draft Plan).]
Your participation
in this process is essential.
As has been demonstrated time and again
in recent years, anti-OHV groups have effectively stopped every public
land OHV access proposal from becoming a reality. We can stop the
opposition from winning again and again by participating in the UMP
process, advising our politicians that OHV enthusiasts have been shut
out of state lands for too long, and standing up for our rights as
residents and taxpayers. At the same time we must recognize that there
are legitimate environmental and social concerns that need to be
addressed as part of any ATV access proposal, and simply attacking
opponents and their concerns is not constructive; in fact it is harmful
to our cause.
Here's
what we all need to do:
- Attend
the Public Meetings: When a notice is published by NYSORVA about
an upcoming UMP meeting for a piece of state land that we think has
potential, or that a member has requested we advocate for, please
make plans to attend.
- Submit
your written comments regarding any subject UMP. Comment
e-mail/snail-mail addresses will be provided under each UMP Link
above. State that you are strongly in favor of ATV access where
appropriate in these units. The DEC will be looking for short,
informed, sensible commentary. (Basic sample
text is provided below if you are not sure what to write.)
- Advise your
State Assembly Member and Senator so that your views can shape
their position on UMPs. Please encourage them to help you fight to
ensure that ATV access is included in this UMP by asking them to
send an affirmative statement of support to the DEC UMP manager
listed for each UMP. (These land units don’t have to be in your
district for your representative to have influence over the
outcome.) To look up your State Senator and Assembly Member on the
Internet using your zip/zip+4 postal code, go to Project
Vote Smart. For those without Internet access, your Town Clerk
or possibly the post office can give out the names of the State
Senator and Assembly Member for your area. The main switchboard
numbers for the Legislature are 518-455-2800 for the Senate, and
518-455-4100 for the Assembly.
Remember, each UMP process affords us
an excellent opportunity to get some reasonable, legal OHV access to
state land. Just as important, we need to demonstrate that maintaining
OHV access on state land is consistent with the state's interest in
serving its residents and wisely managing the public's resources. Please
do your part to ensure the UMPs contain an OHV access proposal by
speaking out!
Also, please pass this page or link on
to as many people as possible, and check back on it from time to time
for updates on the effort for getting ATV access designated in these
units (remember to reload/refresh the web page on each visit).
Thank you for you help in this matter.
See
the DEC
UMP web site for a more complete list of UMPs in progress.
Sample
E-mail Text for sending comments to DEC UMP Team Leaders:
Select and copy the text (CTRL+C),
click on the e-mail link, past into the body of the message (CTRL+V),
edit in the details and complete your personal information. Be sure to
give your message a subject that identifies your position such as
"In support of ATV Access in [XYZ] UMP"
Dear
Forester [fill in],
I
respectfully request that DEC include in its unit management plan (UMP)
for [XYZ] State Forest, development and maintenance of public access for
all terrain vehicle riders where determined to be appropriate.
Please see to it
that DEC's drafts and final UMP documents contain ATV access proposals
so that the routes can be designated as soon as is practical. Doing so
will be a good regional accommodation and a good response to the many
requests by New York's more than a quarter-million ATV riders. Thank you
for your consideration in this matter.
Name
Address
City, State ZIP
Phone
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