What is a unit management plan?

The Adirondack Park Agency Act directs the state Department of Environmental Conservation to create management plans for units under the department’s jurisdiction. The Adirondack Park Agency must review the plans for their conformance with the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan, the park’s leading policy document.

The master plan states these documents must include: 

• Inventories of fish and wildlife, geology, natural, scenic and cultural resources, existing public and administrative facilities;
• Inventories of current and projected public uses, including how those uses may impact the unit;
• Assessments of the physical, biological and social carrying capacity;
• Management activities that will minimize adverse impacts on a unit’s resources, rehabilitate portions suffering from overuse, regulate or limit public use, preserve aquatic and terrestrial habitats, fish and wildlife, water bodies, endangered or rare species;
• Identifications of areas needing improvements;
• Lists of non-conforming uses and a schedule for their removal;
• Identifications of accessible portions of units for people with disabilities;
• Schedules of when projects may be achieved.

APA and DEC staff conduct on-the-ground surveys before drafting plans. Drafts are released for public comment. The DEC collects comments on the plan’s contents. The APA collects comments on whether the plans conform with the master plan. The draft plans could be revised through the public comment process multiple times.

Final plans must be adopted by the DEC commissioner. 

View a list of unit management plans here: https://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/4979.html.

— Gwendolyn Craig