Adirondack towns want motorized access to new Boreas Ponds tract
Times Union
May 13, 2016
ALBANY — The newest addition to the Adirondack Forest Preserve would be open to cars, bicycles, motorboats and snowmobiles if local leaders have their way. But environmental groups say the region would suffer ecological harm unless motorized access is strictly limited.
The state purchased the 20,758-acre Boreas Ponds tract from The Nature Conservancy for $14.5 million last month, completing a 69,000-acre acquisition that was initiated in 2012 by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The Adirondack Park Agency will release a proposed classification plan in coming months that will determine how the public can explore it.
The Adirondack Council and other environmental groups have proposed classifying most of the tract as motor-free wilderness connecting the adjacent High Peaks and Dix Mountain Wilderness areas, creating more than 280,000 acres of contiguous wilderness accessible only on foot or by canoe.
The five towns surrounding the tract — Minerva, Newcomb, North Hudson, Indian Lake and Long Lake — proposed Thursday that the ponds and 7-mile road leading to them be open to motor vehicles.
