Authorize OHV Access in
Colton State Forest
Current
News: Public meeting June 7.
Last
update 6/1/01. Click reload/refresh to check for update if you have
visited before.
[What
You Can Do] [Link
to sample letter text] [Colton
UMP Info Contact: Bob
Gleason]
About the
Colton State Forest Unit management Plan
A Unit Management Plan
("UMP") is under development by DEC in cooperation with the
public for a 11,046-acre Colton State Forest Unit which is comprised of
8 separate parcels in central St. Lawrence County. Public input from ATV
users is necessary to ensure that draft UMPs for this unit contains
authorization of new and/or existing access for ATVs and off-highway
motorcycles where appropriate and sustainable. Ensuring final UMPs
retain off-highway vehicle (OHV) access proposals will be an ongoing
process and should be a priority for all OHV enthusiasts since this is
an excellent opportunity to get a ATV access officially developed and
maintained on New York State's (your) public land.
Your
participation in this process is essential
Because, 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 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 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's going on: A "Unit
Management Plan" is part of the official process the DEC uses to
designate acceptable activities on parcels of state land, including
recreational activities. The UMP process is open to the public in
meetings and by written comment. Even though some of the ATV routes may
be currently established in any of these units, we can count on some
measure of opposition. And if we don't ask that this access be part of
any UMP, we may well lose it, to the great satisfaction of the anti-OHV
groups.
Here's
what we all need to do:
- Attend
the Public Meeting: A public Open House meeting to
discuss these units is scheduled for June 7, 2001, from 5-8 pm, in
the cafeteria at Colton-Pierrepont Central School in Colton. Click
here for a Mapquest location map.
- Now,
and again when the Draft Plan is released, submit your written
comments regarding the Colton SF UMP. 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.)
Send your
positive comments to:
Pat Whalen
NYSDEC
6739 US Rt. 11
Potsdam, NY 13676
Phone (315) 265-3090
Or e-mail
r6ump@gw.dec.state.ny.us.
(Note “COLTON SF” in the title please.)
- 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 Pat Whalen.
(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, this is 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 it's
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.
For more information, contact Colton SF
UMP Coordinator, Mr. Robert Gleason, Pres., Tri Town ATV Trailriders,
Inc at (315) 769-3269 or email Bob
Gleason.
Sample E-mail Text for
the DEC UMP Team Leader:
Select and copy the text (CTRL+C), click on the e-mail link, past into the body of the message
(CTRL+V),
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 Watson’s
and adjacent Easement UMPs."
UMP Teal Leader: r6ump@gw.dec.state.ny.us
(Remember to include “COLTON SF” in the
title.)
Dear Forester Whalen,
I respectfully request that DEC include
in its unit management plan (UMP) for Colton 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
[Local
contact for Colton SF UMP Info: Bob
Gleason]
| 
