JUDGE STRIKES DOWN TOWN’S ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLE LAW Decision Limits Negative Impacts & Illegal Use of ATVs in the Adirondack Park FORESTPORT, N.Y. – NYS Supreme Court Justice Samuel D. Hester has overturned a local law that would have expanded all-terrain vehicle (ATV) riding in the Town of Forestport in New York’s Adirondack Park. The law had designated a public road on which ATVs would be allowed to operate alongside cars and trucks, which is otherwise prohibited under State Law, except for short stretches that connect legal trail systems. The judge ruled that the town had failed to comply with the legal requirements for opening a road to ATVs. “We didn’t want to file a lawsuit against the town, but felt we were left with no other choice,” said Adirondack Council Executive Director William C. Janeway. “The law was proposed and adopted very quickly, with little discussion or opportunity for public input. Off-road motorized vehicles have a unique capacity to harm the Adirondack Forest Preserve, as well as the park’s peace and solitude.” The Adirondack Council filed the lawsuit to protect the “forever wild” Forest Preserve, as well as local residents and visitors, Janeway explained. The park’ s public lands, known as the Forest Preserve, are protected by the NYS Constitution’s “forever wild” clause. An Adirondack Council member lives on one of the roads that would have been opened to ATV traffic. “Our family has a home and property in the Adirondack Park in the Town of Forestport because of the peace and tranquility,” said James Klodnicki. “We don’t live next to an ATV trail, so we thought we were safe, until the town opened our road to ATVs. That decision could have changed the character of our neighborhood very drastically.” “ATVs just don’t belong on the Forest Preserve, or in places where riders can easily trespass into neighborhoods or other off-limits areas,” said former Lewis County Legislator and farmer Bruce Krug of Constableville. “They can do too much damage, too quickly. Local residents and taxpayers get stuck with the bill.” “ATVs can cause damage that snowmobiles and other motorized and mechanized forms of recreation do not,” said the Adirondack Council’s Janeway. “The Adirondack Council opposes all off-road or trail use of motorized vehicles on Forest Preserve lands in the Adirondack Park, with few exceptions.” The Adirondack Park is a national treasure, Janeway noted. At 9,300 square miles, it is the largest park in the contiguous United States. Its public Forest Preserve contains most of the wilderness and old growth forest remaining in the Northeast. The six-million-acre park also contains 130 rural hamlets and villages that live in harmony with the surrounding wilderness. “We are trying to discourage the unlawful expansion of ATV riding in the Adirondacks,” Janeway said. “This isn’t the first time we have filed a lawsuit like this, but we hope it will be the last.” The Adirondack Council won a similar lawsuit against the Lewis County Legislature in March 2007, when State Supreme Court Justice Joseph McGuire voided the county’s Local Law #7-2006 creating an ATV trail network. Justice McGuire ruled that the county failed to take into account the potential for damage to the environment. Some of those county lands were also adjacent to constitutionally protected state Forest Preserve. “There is plenty of room for motorized and mechanized recreation in the Adirondack Park,” Janeway said. “But it is important for public officials to recognize that there are some places that are too sensitive and need to be protected from destructive uses.” He noted that the Adirondack Council has not opposed all motorized or mechanized recreation. In fact, it has supported state efforts to open new ATV- riding areas on commercial timberlands where the state has purchased public motorized recreational rights. “We are generally against the use of ATVs on the public Adirondack Forest Preserve, which we consider to be a priceless national treasure,” he said. “We support exceptions for official search and rescue, permitted scientific research, and for disabled access, which is approved pursuant to State Department of Environmental Conservation policy.” The Adirondack Council’s legal complaint stated that the town’s law violated state Vehicle and Traffic Law regarding the use of highways by ATVs. In addition, it said the town failed to assess the potential for damage to the environment under the State Environmental Quality Review Act. Further, it alleged that the town failed to provide adequate public notice that the new law was going to be adopted, depriving the public of an opportunity to participate in the discussion. Founded in 1975, the Adirondack Council is a privately funded not-for-profit organization whose mission is to ensure the ecological integrity and wild character of the Adirondack Park. The Council envisions a Park comprised of core wilderness areas, surrounded by farms and working forests, as well as vibrant, local communities. The Council carries out its mission through research, education, advocacy and legal action. Adirondack Council members live in all 50 United States. |
| JUDGE STRIKES DOWN TOWN’S ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLE LAW 03/10/16 07:00am |
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