State officials are taking some time this winter to study land classifications for several parks that border the Adirondack "Blue Line." By itself, that may not sound too exciting, but the activity is a great example of cooperation between people who may not always see eye to eye.
The State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation — which manages local parks such as Point au Roche, Cumberland Bay and Macomb — is looking at how these public areas should be classified to determine future management.
Parks such as Point au Roche are within the Adirondack Park and are managed as part of the state's Forest Preserve by the Department of Environmental Conservation, which means they are protected from any kind of unwarranted use that would interfere with their designation as Intensive Use lands.
Point au Roche, Cumberland Bay, Macomb and five other parks in question lie outside the Blue Line but are in counties that are partially inside the Adirondack Park. That means their designation is not as clear.
The issue came to the surface last year at Moreau State Park in Saratoga County, where a project to put in water lines between a neighboring subdivision and the Hudson River attracted the ire of several environmental organizations, which believed Moreau should be protected, as state lands within the Blue Line are.
In an effort to prevent any such controversy from developing again, the Office of Parks agreed to study the land use of those eight areas to see if they should be added to the Forest Preserve and thus be protected under the state's Forever Wild clause.
A lot of answers to that process are not yet available, as the office works internally on the issue. But officials have said that any reclassification of those areas should not have any significant impact on what goes on there: Camping will still take place at Cumberland Bay, hiking and picnicking will go on at Point au Roche, and outdoor recreation will not be impacted at Macomb or the other areas.
These locations are special jewels of the North Country. Just head out to Point au Roche on any weekend, and you'll find dozens of visitors exploring the trails that wind through woods and fields and along the lake shore. It is one of the most popular recreation spots in the entire county. It must stay that way.
We support any effort to preserve those lands, which should be available for recreational use. The Office of Parks has said it will announce its findings early next year, and we believe their expertise will help find the best way to protect the lands that belong to all of us.
Opinion
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