Potential ATV/OHM Access in Northwestern NY

Authorize OHV Access in Watson’s East Triangle Wild Forest and Adjacent Easements

Current News: Public meeting May 24.

Last update 5/15/01. Click reload/refresh to check for update if you have visited before.
[What You Can Do] [Link to sample letter text] [Watson’s/Easement Info Contact: Lnortz@northnet.org]

About the Watson’s East Triangle WF and adjacent Easement UMPs.

A Unit Management Plan ("UMP") is under development by DEC in cooperation with the public for a 14,500-acre Watson’s East Triangle Wild Forest in northwester New York. Additional UMPs are also in planning stages for adjacent easement lands including: certain recently acquired unclassified forest preserve lands, the 13,000-acre Lassiter Easement, and the 12,000-acre Croghan Tract Easement in Lewis and Herkimer Counties. Public input from ATV users is necessary to ensure that draft UMPs for these units contain authorization of new and/or existing access for ATVs and off-highway motorcycles. 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. A DEC press release can be read at http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/reg6/press/6r01-08.html.

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 May 24, 2001, from 5-8 pm, in the auditorium at Beaver River Central School in Beaver Falls. Click here for a Mapquest location map.

· Now, and again when the Draft Plan is released, submit your written comments regarding the Watson, Croghan, and Lassiter UMPs. 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:
Keith Rivers
NYSDEC
Rd # Box 22-A
Lowville, NY 13367
Phone (315) 376-3521
Or e-mail r6ump@gw.dec.state.ny.us.

· 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 these UMPs by asking them to send an affirmative statement of support to Keith Rivers. (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 proposals 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 Watson’s/Easement UMP Coordinator, Lisa Nortz, Sec., Adirondack ATV Riders Club at (315) 346-6805 or Lnortz@northnet.org.

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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

Dear Forester Rivers,

I respectfully request that DEC include in its unit management plans (UMPs) for Watson’s East Triangle WF and proximate Easement lands, development and maintenance of public access for all terrain vehicle riders.

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 the first real response to the many requests by New York's more than a quarter-million ATV riders. Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

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