NY: 93,000 Adirondack Acres for Preservation

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State eyes massive Adirondack parcel for purchase, preservation
Wednesday March 05, 2003

By MICHAEL GORMLEY
Associated Press Writer

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) The state is interested in buying and preserving as open space at least part of a huge swath of the prime recreation acreage in the northwestern Adirondacks that was put on the market this week.

The 93,000-acre property in St. Lawrence County is part of the state's Open Space Conservation Plan, which includes the state's highest priorities for purchase, said Peter Constantakes, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

The property is owned by Hancock Timber Resource Group based in Maine. The property includes large sections of the middle branch of the Grass River and some of its tributaries.

The state, which is facing a multibillion dollar deficit, will consider the opportunity to protect more land from development in the 6-million acre Adirondack State Park, Constantakes sad.

``Those are priority parcels, so when one becomes available with a willing seller, we certainly look into it,'' he said. ``We can't make any promises, but we will look into to it to see if it can be preserved. It's something we are interested in.''

A spokesman for the firm didn't immediately respond to a request for comment left on the company's answering machine.

``This are extremely canoeable waters and very highly sought after river corridors,'' said John Sheehan of The Adirondack Council, an environmental group. ``We've been asking the state since the late 1980s to protect both shores of the Grass River and add to the forest preserve. This is a huge amount of land.''

The property has no price tag. It is scheduled to be auctioned off in May, Sheehan said.

If the state purchased all the property, it would be the second largest single parcel purchased under the state's open space program, Sheehan said. The state recently purchased 144,300 acres in Franklin, St. Lawrence and Lewis counties from the Champion International paper companies.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
http://cbsnewyork.com/nynews/NY--Adiron ... _news_html

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8 NY parks eyed for inclusion in Forest Preserve
11/17/2008, 5:00 p.m. EST
The Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — State officials agreed to study eight parks near the Adirondacks and consider adding them to NY's Forest Preserve.

Three Adirondack nonprofit groups say the agreement for the review followed their complaint that a pumping station built last year in Moreau State Park to supply the Luther Forest Subdivision from the Hudson River should have been prohibited.

The parks: Crab Island, Cumberland Bay, Higley Flow, Macomb Reservation, Pixley Falls, Point Au Roche, Saratoga Spa, Whetstone Gulf.

http://www.syracuse.com/newsflash/index ... list=state