Public invited to comment on draft plan until Aug. 15
By Zachary Matson
After years of back-and-forth on the future of a historic lodge in the northern Adirondacks, New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation is proposing to remove it. The decision to move forward on Debar Pond Lodge, according to the DEC, comes after efforts “to preserve the structure failed to garner a viable option.”
The agency’s plan outlines a larger environmental impact statement and revisions to an existing draft unit management plan detailing management actions for the 88,300-acre Debar Mountain Complex. The DEC is accepting public comments on the plan until Aug. 15.
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The fight to save Debar Lodge
The draft scope indicates DEC will propose actions to remove the main lodge, built in 1939, and its seven outbuildings and restore the site to a natural condition. DEC also plans to improve trails, accessibility and historical interpretation at the site.
Preservationists for years have sought ways to maintain Debar Lodge as a legacy of Adirondack architectural history, including proposals to reclassify the lodge site or protect it through a constitutional amendment. Those efforts have not been successful to date. As the site is classified as wild forest, the structures are considered non-conforming under the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan.
“Over the years, DEC has considered multiple proposals that could have allowed for preservation of the Debar Pond Lodge Site, but these proposals would not comply with legal requirements,” according to the scoping document.
The scoping document acknowledges the loss of historic resources by removing the lodge, which in 2014 was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The state proposes mitigating those downsides by documenting the sites, salvaging parts of the structure of use elsewhere and developing historical signage at the site.
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Moving ahead with a plan
Advancing a unit management plan for the Debar Mountain Complex, though, would enable state officials to improve recreational access and resources on the property. The planning documents notes that DEC “lacks the resources to properly maintain the structures and does not have an operational need for the buildings.”
The scoping includes some alternative approaches to consider as part of the environmental impact review, including taking no action, stabilizing and mothballing the lodge and rehabbing or restoring the site to its historic state. But the draft scope indicates removal as the agency’s “preferred” option.
“After considering many alternatives, absent a constitutional amendment the DEC must comply with existing law and there is no mechanism whereby Debar Lodge can remain,” according to the plan.
I think it’s pretty sad to tear down this structure…what’s wrong with people..for god sake it’s a beautiful place historically..Really DEC……
In short, DEC will demolish the site, leave it bare and sell it for a quick money grab.
This needs to be saved. John Hendrickson.
was spot on..the state is not a good steward of any property….
Take the glass out of the windows and let nature rewild it instead of trucks, dozers, and backhoes. America’s safety laws suck when it comes to preservation of history.
The public needs MORE wild places, not fewer. Turning this 1940s monstrosity into a private event center is not in the public interest. Re-wilding Debar pond is in the public interest.
This is so typical in good ol’ NY, everything is done the wrong way, the reverse of normal…
How sad! Why is it not made into a visitor center? Interpretation and forestry education, history from geological beginnings to today’s land preservation and to add, so many hikers need educating about hiking safety, as well as, campers following rules and being considerate of others, not forgetting the needless destruction of public buildings and trees/vegetation.
Camp Santoni survived because the APA reclassified from wild forest to historic area. A 32.5-acre area, encompassing the three building complexes (including the Main Camp complex, Gate Lodge complex, and farm complex) and the five-mile road connecting them, is classified as “Historic”.
The surrounding lands within the Santanoni Preserve remain classified as “Wild Forest” within the Forest Preserve. While classified as Historic, the management plan for Camp Santanoni dictates that it will continue to be managed according to the guidelines for areas classified as “Wild Forest,” with specific exceptions for the historic area’s restoration and interpretation activities. If the state wanted to the same thing could happen to Debar lodge.
This is a travesty. Ii have worked we’re over 15 years trying to save debar pond lodge. This includes working with AARCH. Steve Engelhart, and Erin Tobin, Billy Jones, Dan Steck, the Adirondack veterans group that attempted to purchase the property for a retreat for veterans to name a few. I have also sign petition started petitions made comments on every article. , reached out DEC Raybrook. And used a social media to attempt to get more people to contact those in power to try to save this beautiful Lodge. Erin Tobin ran surveys for people to comment on the lodge, and whether it should be torn down, and the majority of people felt it should be saved. This is the general public tax paying folks who want this building saved, and and neither of the New York State, nor the DEC listened and once the environmentalist gotten involved, and that was the final nail in the coffin for debar Lodge. I’ve also attended town meetings at town of Duane when Ed lemieux was attempting to broker deal with the New York State to save the lodge that went nowhere also. So now New York State will tear the lodge down and put up platforms with picnic tables and outhouses, and maybe some tents and this is what we will be left with. There is one positive. I believe that they will finally open the gate and allow people to drive closer to the pond and park so that those with disabilities and elderly may be able to visualize the area without traversing over a mile . It’s a shame what’s happened here and the taxpayers will be paying for it.
Eleanor, I agree with you 100%. The environmentalists think that everything has to be wild. The best solution for this should have been to donate it to the veterans with the assurance they would keep the original buildings. They now have land just down the road that they are developing and could have used that land to do the same. I guess they forget that without the veterans they would have no say in what is wild and what is not but, I guess with their support of socialists, that may happen anyway.
Typical nonsense. When in doubt, always blame it on the Boogie Man du jour.
How does the DEC have money and time for this but they still haven’t replaced the Mill Brook Bog Bridge that they tore out last September???
Debar Pond and lodge are hidden gems. Peaceful, beautiful and a glimpse of a bygone era, and a place I return to every time I come to the northcountry. I think it should be stabilizedj, hopefully so people with more vision than DEC can restore it in the future, or left to age in place (like I hope to do). I enjoy the rudimentary access, even carrying a canoe, but think the state should improve the road and open the gate to make it accessible to everyone.
Unfortunately Steven many people agree with you but the powers that be again listened to environmentalists and opted for tear down.