Conservation groups are urging the Adirondack Park Agency to drop a plan that could allow motor vehicles like ATVs in the Adirondack wilderness.
The idea of allowing ATVs in the “forever wild” wilderness of Adirondack State Park might sound like an April Fool’s joke. But a proposed amendment to the park’s rules could do just that.
A collection of Adirondack conservation organizations have called on the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) to drop a controversial amendment to the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan that would create an administrative loophole and open remote wilderness areas to motorized vehicles.
The APA recently agreed to pause the amendment. But it is unclear whether the APA will bring the proposal back to its board for preliminary approval at its March monthly meeting.
The conservation organizations are asking the APA to scrap the amendment and instead allow the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to take the lead on creating a statewide plan that excludes motor-free official wilderness areas.
ATVs, Golf Carts, Trucks
The amendment aims to increase accessibility throughout the park for people with disabilities, and it would broaden the types of vehicles people with disabilities can use to access wilderness areas.
Currently, people can use a powered wheelchair anywhere in the park where pedestrians are allowed to go. The amendment would clear the way for Other Power-Driven Mobility Devices (OPDMD) to be used.
OPDMDs can be considered most things that people use for transportation beyond wheelchairs, such as all-terrain vehicles, golf carts, and Segways. The amendment’s definition of an OPDMD does not require those devices to be specifically designed for people with disabilities.
Conservation groups are concerned about the impact on the park’s wilderness. They say the proposed amendment would redefine “motor vehicle” to exclude motor vehicles, including cars, trucks, and ATVs if they are used by people with mobility disabilities.
Since the master plan’s adoption in 1972, all public motor vehicle use has been prohibitied on the park’s forest preserve lands classified as Wilderness Areas.
Fragile Wilderness Areas
The amendment is opposed by the Adirondack Council, Adirondack Mountain Club, Adirondack Wild/Friends of the Forest Preserve, Adirondack Wilderness Advocates and Protect the Adirondacks!
The organizations stated they believe there is a better way to promote access for persons with disabilities, while at the same time protecting the few wilderness areas in the Adirondack Park from motorized intrusions.
Motor Vehicle access is currently allowed for people with disabilities in some “forever wild” forest preserve land classifications with a special DEC-issued permit under its CP-3 program. The program does not allow such vehicles in Wilderness, Primitive, and Canoe Areas.
Conservation groups say the amendment would life the ban ongolf carts, e-bikes, ATVs, UTVs, and trucks in Wilderness, Primitive, and Canoe Areas. They said they oppose the proposed amendment because it directly contravenes the master plan’s definition of Wilderness Areas and will permanently alter the forest preserve landscape and its ecologies.
The APA has previously classified all of the potentially affected lands as being too sensitive for motorized recreation.
The groups said the Americans with Disabilities Act allows for a balanced approach, recognizing the unique and sensitive qualities of Wilderness Areas. It exempts federally designated Wilderness Areas and allows states the flexibility to protect state-designed Wilderness Areas while expanding access elsewhere.
“Wilderness is rare and precious and easily lost,” said Claudia Braymer, Executive Director of Protect the Adirondacks! “The Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan already directs APA to prioritize natural resource protection and APA should not adopt an amendment that eviscerates the core of wilderness protections.”
Amendments to the State Land Master Plan require approval by the governor.