Do snowmobiles harm the Forest Preserve?
NO
By Jim McCulley
I once was talking to a gentleman who was building
a housing development on the Old Mountain Road outside Lake Placid.
He was bothered that the road had been a snowmobile route in the
1970s, and he announced to me that “snowmobiles are bad for
the environment.” As opposed to building homes, cutting in
roads, putting in septic systems? I realized then that there must
be many people who live in the same vacuum of facts when it comes
to assessing the harm of their activities to the environment.
Hikers do more damage to the Forest Preserve than do snowmobilers.
Our sleds ride on frozen surfaces and do no harm to the ground at
all. In contrast, hikers tromping through the Preserve in mud season
and rainy weather have widened their “footpaths” to
as much as 40 feet and eroded them to as much as 4 feet deep. There
is no chance of remediation because the hordes of nature lovers
never cease coming, whatever the season.
As we all know from the thousands of cars parked along Route 73
from the Northway to Lake Placid all summer, there are more hikers
in the woods than there are year-round residents in the village.
Given the sheer number of hikers and assuming they have naturally
occurring bodily functions, they must leave millions of pounds of
feces on the Forest Preserve floor each year. The Forest Rangers
tell me that the bears have got so fat in the High Peaks from eating
excrement. Of course, those are the lucky bears; others are being
shot to protect hikers.
Right now, snowmobile trails can be only 8 feet wide. We are asking
for 12-foot trails for safety reasons. At Avalanche Pass and on
Wright Peak, the cross-country ski trails are as wide as 20 feet,
but we don’t hear any complaints from environmental groups
that this is bad for the Forest Preserve. So why is a 12-foot snowmobile
trail bad for the Preserve?
If you look at the state’s proposed snowmobile plan for the
Adirondacks, you will learn how little impact snowmobiling has on
the land and wildlife. Every study has concluded that the sound
from snowmobiles has little or no effect on wildlife. In fact, a
University of Wisconsin study showed that when snowmobiles were
removed from trails and replaced by skiers, the deer were more likely
to steer clear of the trail.
I know environmentalists like to attribute human attitudes and emotions
to wildlife, but the truth is that the animals of the forest are
not bothered by snowmobiles. The only species that does seem bothered
is a non-native invasive species, the environmental elitist who
feels that his or her form of recreation is the only legitimate
way to enjoy the Forest Preserve.
The emissions from snowmobiles leave no trace in the Forest Preserve.
Campfires put out far more particulate matter than snowmobiles do.
I know campfires are not allowed in some places in the High Peaks,
but that’s only because hikers have ripped from the trees
all the branches within arm’s reach and burned them. And let’s
not forget about all the forest fires caused by hikers, such as
the one in Wilmington Notch and the one on Noonmark Mountain a few
years ago. How many trees have been lost in these blazes?
I leave you with this to think about. If a snowmobile passes through
the woods and there’s no elitist there to complain, did it
make a noise?
Jim McCulley is the president of the Lake Placid
Snowmobile Club.
.............................................................................................
YES
By John Sheehan
Are snowmobiles harming the Adirondack Forest
Preserve? You bet they are. They cause air pollution, noise pollution
and light pollution. They disturb wildlife and place burdens on
local communities that have to deal with horrific, high-speed accidents
and trespass.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
For the past three years, the Adirondack Council has been working
with state officials, snowmobilers and other environmentalists to
reshape the region’s snowmobile trail system. The Adirondack
Council believes that a well-designed, well-managed system connecting
the Park’s far-flung hamlets can boost the winter economy.
Even better, it should eliminate some of the environmental damage
by moving trails closer to roads and out of the middle of the Forest
Preserve.
Until a comprehensive plan is completed and enacted, unregulated
snowmobiling will continue to degrade the Park’s unique, wild
character. As we plan for the future, it would be illogical to make
wholesale changes that attract a few more snowmobilers but drive
away the myriads of visitors who come to the Park in search of silence
and solitude. Inappropriately located snowmobile trails provide
neither.
Most Adirondackers have heard about the tussle over snowmobiles
in Yellowstone National Park. The Park Service and a federal judge
agreed—after years of study—that snowmobiles are polluting
the air, upsetting wildlife and allowing trespassers and poachers
to evade law enforcement. If the judge’s ruling stands, snowmobiles
will be banned from Yellowstone, starting next year.
But the Adirondack Park is not Yellowstone. There is a lot more
private land here, and the Adirondack Park is much larger than Yellowstone.
In short, we have more room for snowmobiles.
The state has struggled with the problem of what to do with snowmobiles
since they first arrived in the Adirondacks in the 1960s. Originally,
they were allowed to go anywhere on the Forest Preserve where the
riders could fit between the trees. Eventually, they were restricted
to specific trails.
In the intervening years, the state Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) has lost control of the trail system. New trails
have emerged haphazardly, in every corner of the Park. Often, they
are in the worst possible location in terms of environmental risk.
Many trails run straight through the middle of massive, unbroken
forests. Many cross lakes, rivers and ponds to connect one trail
segment to another. This too often leads to tragedy when an unfortunate
sledder finds the ice breaking beneath him.
There are also risks to the wildlife. At night, the headlights of
snowmobiles introduce artificial illumination to parts of the forest
that would otherwise remain dark and quiet. How does this disturb
wildlife? Before any decisions are made on the locations of new
trails, DEC must gauge the impact on the Park’s wildlife habitat
and plant life.
In fact, DEC hasn’t provided the public with a decent map
of the existing trail system, or an inventory of what was created
legally and what was not.
DEC’s continued reliance on snowmobile clubs and other private
entities to “manage” the trails for the department is
part of this problem. The Adirondack Council has recorded and reported
widespread damage in areas of the Forest Preserve where the workers
used bulldozers and explosives as their “grooming” tools.
DEC must guarantee better oversight and give the public the opportunity
to comment on work plans.
Fixing the shortcomings in DEC’s draft snowmobile plan is
our only hope of making snowmobiling compatible with the “forever
wild” nature of the Forest Preserve. If we do it right, both
the environment and the economy will be better off.
John Sheehan is the spokesman for the Adirondack
Council.
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