Riverfront Committee: time to expand Black River trail system in Watertown NY

By CRAIG FOX, Watertown Daily Times, Link to original post

With Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo pushing to promote tourism and Upstate New York, Dr. Jason F. White said he believes now is the time to go after state funding to complete the city’s hiking and biking trail system that runs mostly along the Black River.

In the past couple of decades, the city has finished almost 2½ miles of trails. Now, Dr. White and the Riverfront Committee are eyeing an addition to the system. And state funding could help pay for new trails, he told members of Advantage Watertown on Thursday. “I don’t think we should miss this opportunity,” Dr. White told the group of business and community leaders.

Last week, Gov. Cuomo held a tourism summit in Albany and announced what he called the largest tourism campaign in decades, committing $60 million to promote the industry. His proposal included a major advertising campaign in New York City to promote upstate tourism.

Dr. White and Advantage Watertown Chairman John K. Bartow Jr. will attend Monday night’s Watertown City Council work session to push for the city to apply for a grant from the North Country Regional Economic Development Council for trail funding. The Riverfront Committee is a subgroup of Advantage Watertown. “As a group, we can get the momentum going,” Dr. White said.

Almost all of the system is on the river’s south side. The trails mainly snake through the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds, Veterans Memorial Riverwalk, Factory Square and the Marble Street, Whitewater and Waterworks parks.

Last year, more trails were added in Marble Street Park and Bicentennial Park, along the river at the fairgrounds. They were added when overall park improvements were completed there. The first set of trails was completed in Waterworks Park, across from Huntington Heights, during the 1980s.

So far, the city has completed 21 projects along the Black River, Dr. White said, adding the city could use in-kind services by Department of Public Works crews as a matching grant for the state funding. Dr. White suggested applying for $100,000 to $150,000 to complete additional trails.

The city has worked to increase public use in and around the river. Besides the trails, a handful of companies now operate rafting trips along the river, Mr. Bartow said.

Senior City Planner Michael A. Lumbis, a member of the Riverfront Committee, said the city still has about $47,000 remaining for Black River funding that could be used for trail improvements.

Mr. Bartow said that other communities, including Wilna, Carthage and Lyons Falls, have made recent improvements along the river or plan to do so.

Advantage board member Peter W. Schmitt, who is also executive director of the Watertown Family YMCA, suggested that the group would be more successful in lobbying for funding if it can prove how much the trails are used by the public.

While the city does not track such data, rafting trips attract about 40,000 people a year. The City Council’s work session starts at 7 p.m. in the third-floor council chambers at City Hall, 245 Washington St.

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Adirondack Region Paddling Festivals Offer Thrilling Adventure This Summer in Northern New York

This summer, the Adirondack Region of Northern New York’s scenic waterways dominate the summer calendar from the Black River to Lake Champlain with annual paddling festivals, as well as the inaugural Adirondack Challenge.

In celebration and recognition of the Adirondack Region’s 3,000 lakes, rivers and streams, the Adirondack Challenge, scheduled for July 21 in Indian Lake, will feature an invitational whitewater race, a well as an internationally competitive flatwater race. Enjoy a full day of festivities, live music, local food and children’s activities. To learn more, visit: iloveny.com/adkchallenge.

Additional Adirondack paddling festivals and events include:

The Madrid Mile Canoe Regatta on June 8 features a three mile recreation race open to solo paddlers and teams, a C-1 Pro Race and an amateur marathon race, both spanning nine miles with a quarter-mile portage. Organized and hosted by the St. Lawrence Valley Paddlers, find more information and register online at slvpaddlers.org.

Adirondacks-Tug Hill Region’s Annual Black River Challenge on June 30 offers an adventurous canoe and kayak race for amateur competitors and avid sportsmen. The race starts in Glenfield and continues for 23 miles along twisting, sometimes fast-moving waters. Register for the event with the Lewis County Chamber of Commerce by calling (315) 376-2213.

The 36 Mayor’s Cup Regatta & Festival July 11-14 is one of the Adirondack Coast’s most celebrated traditions. This four-day celebration on Lake Champlain features the much-anticipated regatta, a boat parade of lights, children’s activities, vendors, post race entertainment, fireworks and more.

The Adirondack Canoe Classic, known as the “90-Niler,” is one of the Adirondack Region’s most celebrated paddling events. The three-day race starts on September 6 in Old Forge and winds for 90 miles through the heart of the six-million-acre park to the finish line in Saranac Lake. The competition is open to individuals and teams, and is one of the most challenging paddling events in the northeast.

Get out and explore the lakes of the Adirondacks, from the furthest reaches of the Saranac Lake Chain, to the vastness of the St. Regis Canoe Area, New York’s only designated wilderness canoe area. For more information about visiting the Adirondacks or to start planning your trip, log onto visitadirondacks.com.

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Northern New York Trails

Click here for a resource on Northern New York Trails: Mainly Jefferson County, NY and surrounding areas – Mountain Biking, Hiking, Trail Walking, Cross-Country Skiing, Camping, Nature Trails/Preserves, Parks with Trails, and Historical Trails

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New York State Parks and Recreation Hopes to Expand Historic Black River Trail in Watertown

The Black River Trail is so popular, New York State Parks and Recreation hopes to expand it and have it connect to all the other parks from Black River to Eastern Boulevard in Watertown.

Black River Trail was once an abandoned railroad, which dated back to the 1800s. The abandoned railroad was secured by the state and made into a recreational trail.

Click here for info on the current Black River Trail.

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Backcountry Skiing Raymond Brook Ski Trail – North River, NY

Backcountry Skiing Raymond Brook Ski Trail – North River, NY

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Lewis County Development Corp. seeking rails-to-trails funding

By STEVE VIRKLER, Watertown Daily Times, link to original post

The Lewis County Development Corp. is seeking grant funding to take on a long-discussed rails-to-trails project that still may include a scenic railroad. “The concept was to preserve these rail lines,” said Lawrence L. Dolhof, corporation president, noting the railroad idea particularly spurred his group’s interest.

The development corporation has applied for funding through the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to undertake a project similar to one proposed by the county that eventually was derailed by a conceptual schism among legislators.

County officials earlier this year proposed buying the 10-mile Lowville and Beaver River Railroad line from Lowville to Croghan from the Mohawk, Adirondack & Northern Railroad Corp. for $425,000; the county then was to acquire the 17-mile Lowville Industrial Track from Lowville to West Carthage for $1.

Under the proposal, the corporation, a subsidiary of Genesee Valley Transportation, Batavia, was to remove tracks from the donated spur so it could be developed as a recreational trail, with the Lowville-to-Croghan spur remaining intact to allow the Railway Historical Society of Northern New York possibly to operate a scenic railroad from its depot in Croghan.

The county was to use a $450,000 Environmental Protection Fund grant, awarded in 2010, for the purchase.

While most legislators didn’t seem opposed to the rail acquisition itself, some were concerned about possible county expenses and problems following the purchase and wished to give local municipalities input on usage and limit all-terrain-vehicle usage on any trails. Some property owners along the lines also questioned how trails would be managed to avoid disruptions to neighbors.

Lawmakers were unable to reach a suitable compromise on motorized-vehicle restrictions and, in May, a majority of lawmakers chose to scrap the idea as a county project and turn down the state funding.

While the state grant could not be transferred from the county to the LCDC, the nonprofit corporation could apply for project funding through the same grant program, Mr. Dolhof said. “The whole thing hinges on the grant,” he said.

LCDC discussions on the project have been limited, given that the grant funding is not a certainty, Mr. Dolhof said. However, he did suggest that part of the group’s rationale to consider the project was to keep alive the potential for a scenic railroad.

John S. Herbrand, GVT’s secretary and general counsel, at an informational session in late March said that if the proposed deal with the county ultimately fell through, the rail company likely would remove all of the rails on both lines for scrap metal. The company then could either hold the land or seek out a nonprofit agency, such as a snowmobile or ATV club, willing to take over the corridors for trail use.

GVT would presumably try to rid itself of the lines before the end of 2013, when a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement on them expires. The company now pays little to no taxes on the rail property, since the PILOT is based on a percentage of revenue generated by the lines rather than the actual land value. “Somebody’s going to end up with title to it,” Mr. Dolhof said.

Having a local entity take over the railroad property would be preferable to an outside developer buying it and making money by selling easement rights, as has happened elsewhere, he said.

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Construction on Champlain Canalway Trail segment to begin next year

Champlain Canalway Trail

Great news from Washington County!  The NYS Canal Corporation has announced that construction will begin on a segment of the Champlain Canalway Trail next fall. Totaling 4.5 miles, the trail will pass through the Town of Kingsbury before ending in the Village of Fort Ann.  Further improvements planned include the construction of camping facilities at Lock C-9 and the placement of interpretive kiosks along the finished trail. Read more about the project.

source: Parks & Trails New York e-newsletter

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Hiking-Kayaking the Beaver River in Lewis County NY

Hiking-Kayaking the Beaver River in Lewis County NY

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Adirondack Forest Preserve gains 400 acres

By Brian Nearing, TimesUnion.com, link to original post

The state’s forever-wild state Forest Preserve in the Adirondack Park is growing by more than 400 acres of forests and wetlands along the western shore of Lake Champlain.

The state is adding more than 2 miles of protected shoreline to the preserve near the Washington County hamlet of Clemons off Route 22, the Department of Environmental Conservation announced Tuesday.

This area is the southern end of the 132-mile lake. Here the lake is narrow, appearing more like a river, and is predominantly wetlands and isolated forest. Being added to state forever-wild lands are 156 acres along the lake donated by The Nature Conservancy and an adjoining 283-acre parcel and island donated by Washington County.

There is no cost to the state, which will pay local property taxes on the land as it does on all state-owned lands in the 6 million-acre Adirondack Park, DEC spokeswoman Lori Severino said on Tuesday.

The Nature Conservancy spent $500,000 three years ago to buy its parcel, located in an area called Chubbs Dock off Route 22, 9 miles north of the village of Whitehall. That money came from a half-million-dollar federal wetland protection grant to the conservancy from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The donated county-owned parcel is in a part of the lake called Maple Bend Island. “Chubbs Dock conserves excellent wildlife habitat along the narrow headwaters of Lake Champlain,” DEC Commissioner Joe Martens said.

The area also will provide new public access to launch boats into the lake. It is several miles north of the existing state boat launch at South Bay. The other public access to the lake is much farther north at Ticonderoga.

Michael Carr, executive director of the Conservancy’s Adirondack Chapter, said: “Not only is New York state keeping intact some of the largest wetlands on Lake Champlain, but doing it in a way that will also secure public access for hunting, fishing, boating and wildlife-oriented recreation — all of which contribute to the state’s outdoor recreation economy.”

The newly protected lands also are important because moose, bears, bobcats, fishers and otters use that relatively undeveloped area to travel between the Lake George region and the Green Mountains in Vermont.

The Nature Conservancy has been studying the southern Champlain region as a “wildlife corridor,” said Michelle Brown, a conservation scientist for the conservancy. “We are looking at this landscape with a big lens, and are exploring ways to make sure that the Adirondacks do not become a kind of ‘island,” and remain connected to the Green Mountains.”

Large carnivores like bears can range up to 10 miles in a single day, and up to 40 miles over the course of a season. Even a smaller predator like a fisher, a member of the weasel family that can reach 4 feet long and weigh 10 pounds, can cover three or four miles a day.

Keeping the forest and lake link open between the mountains allows for continued genetic mixing between animals. When animal populations become isolated, genetic variability declines, making animals more susceptible to disease outbreaks.

The conservancy’s five-year study looks at three strategies — land conservation, like what is being done in Clemons; methods to reduce barriers to wildlife presented by roads in the area, and land use planning to ensure development does not occur in critical areas.

The Champlain study is part of a larger, four-state project including New Hampshire and Maine that seeks to protect connections in the forests of the Northeast. That study includes the conservancy, DEC, as well as the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation Society and The Conservation Fund.

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Daunting canoe trip on the Northern Forest Canoe Trail requires preparation, courage

Daunting canoe trip on the Northern Forest Canoe Trail requires preparation, courage

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