As the New York state Legislature closed its session last week, among the legislation it approved is a bill that implements a constitutional amendment voters approved in 2013.
Landowners in Raquette Lake in the central Adirondacks have been fighting to obtain clear title to their land for decades. In 2013, voters approved the state granting landowners clear title in exchange for lands being added to the Adirondack Forest Preserve.
Protect the Adirondacks Executive Director Peter Bauer notes that enabling legislation needed approval due to the complexity of the situation. “The historic record was very difficult and a lot of materials were lost. There had been ten lawsuits in the last hundred years to prove that these were in fact private lands or to prove that these were in fact public Forest Preserve lands. And those were the easiest lawsuits to resolve. But yet all of these properties had been developed. So in the end trying to resolve this to provide clear title in a way that provided the Forest Preserve with a net benefit with the purchase of additional lands was really the best way to try and resolve this long standing intractable problem.”
Adirondack Mountain Club Executive Director Neil Woodworth explains that after voters authorized the constitutional amendment, the subsequent enabling legislation would take some time to complete. “When the voters approved this resolution we didn't know at that time the exchange parcel. The legislature had to determine whether or not the new acreage intended for transfer to the Adirondack Forest Preserve was a net benefit for the Forest Preserve.”
The state will relinquish any claim to the disputed properties. The landowners agreed to pay a fee and percentage of their assessment into a fund to obtain the property that will be added to the Forest Preserve. The nearly $631,000 allowed the Open Space Institute to obtain for the state the 300-acre Marion River Carry. Woodworth says it will create unique opportunities for paddlers. “It's kind of the Suez Canal of Adirondack canoe routes, the Marion River carry, because it's the vital connection between Blue Mountain Lake and the rest of the Raquette River voyage up through Long Lake and Forked Lake up to the Saranac’s or Tupper Lake. Not only is it a visually beautiful property but it's a key link. I call it the Suez Canal because without that parcel that hundred mile trip would not be possible.”
Raquette Lake landowner Carolyn Gerdin worked with legislators and environmental and advocacy groups to resolve the property disputes. She was in the gallery when the legislature approved the final bill. “I remember the fall before we left camp, we're water access only so we don't go up in the winter, saying to the camp, which sounds kind of silly, we’ll bring you back clear title hopefully next year. We had people that didn't even know. The deeds are regular deeds. There’s nothing on them that says the state has a claim to your title. We had several people who didn't have a clue that had contested property. It was a shock to people. We couldn’t have done it without the people of New York who voted 72 percent for the constitutional amendment.”
When the land replacement transfers are completed, New York state will issue a letter to landowners stating they relinquish any claim of title to the property.
