Governor Kathy Hochul approved amendments to the Adirondack State Land Master Plan on Thursday. Regional advocates are applauding the provisions that will enhance access to the park’s public lands by those with disabilities.
The Adirondack State Land Master Plan is the guiding document for management of 2.9 million acres of public lands within the six-million-acre park. In September, the Adirondack Park Agency approved and forwarded the proposal to the governor for final approval. Regional advocates are supportive of provisions to increase access to state lands for those with disabilities. Adirondack Council spokesman John Sheehan says the amendments will move the conversation about power-driven mobility devices for the disabled to a statewide forum.
“The Department of Environmental Conservation manages access to public lands across the state and having one policy inside the Adirondack Park and a separate one in the rest of the state didn’t seem to make a lot of sense. We’re pleased to see that that’s been transferred over to DEC.”
Sheehan says that the amendment avoids the potential for damage to the Forest Preserve as a result of the use of motorized vehicles by the disabled.
“By moving that to a statewide process that involves all public lands and not singling out wilderness areas as places that might need motorized access, which is of course destructive of the very idea of wilderness, I think we’re on the right track now.”
The amendments do not define so-called Other Powered Mobility Devices, or OPDMD, for people with disabilities. They are defined under the ADA as “any mobility device powered by batteries, fuel, or other engines… that is used by individuals with mobility disabilities for the purpose of locomotion.” The devices include electric wheelchairs, electric scooters, golf carts and Segways.
Accessible Adirondack Tourism founder Nick Friedman notes there has been an ongoing effort by the APA and DEC to define the devices and their impact on natural areas.
“How do we reconcile our obligations legally to comply with the ADA, our moral obligations to provide people with disabilities access to the very spaces that those without a disability can access, because access means equality. And then you wind that in to our naturalist perspective and our fierce desire to protect our beautiful Adirondack wonderland. It is complicated. And all of these moral, legal and emotional ties are really what we’re trying to balance.”
Adirondack Park Local Government Review Board Executive Director Gerald Delaney hopes the amendments will make the Adirondacks more accessible to people with disabilities.
“I really feel that the disabled have been ignored and this is everybody’s park.”
The Master Plan amendments will also address another serious issue in the park – beaver ponds. Delaney said the DEC will drain beaver ponds to prevent flooding and damage to hiking trails.
“Nobody traps anymore. We are into an era where more and bigger beaver dams and that’s going to create more loss of infrastructure. This is going to allow DEC to better manage the forest preserve. We’ll see how it works out in practice. But I think this gives DEC those tools.”
Sheehan, however, feels that the beaver habitat should be left alone.
“Frankly we’d prefer that they leave the beavers alone in wilderness areas and if a trail gets flooded, well, let’s build a new one around it then. But ultimately we would like to see those things modified in future plans, but this is a plan that we can live with at the moment.”
The master plan was also amended to eliminate deadlines for the Department of Environmental Conservation to remove abandoned or out-of-compliance structures in the Forest Preserve.
