ATV task force holds first meeting, looks at options

Jessica Collier

MALONE - In the first meeting of the task force to work on opening all-terrain vehicle trails in Franklin County, the group broke out some maps to examine the options they may have.

"We're, at this point, an exploratory committee," said Neil Seymour, chairman of the task force and head of Franklin County Tourism.

From the state Department of Environmental Conservation, Region 5 Director Betsy Lowe, Regional Supervisor of Natural Resources Larry Nashett, Regional Forest Ranger Capt. John Streiff and Forester Sean Reynolds attended the meeting to discuss the DEC's current regulations and what opportunities might be available for ATV trails.

The DEC does not have a specific policy on ATV trails, Lowe said. She said the agency isn't in the business of creating opportunities for ATV use but is open to it to allow people more ways to experience nature, so they can access more campsites and fishing areas.

Lowe said DEC is glad to be involved.

"We definitely wanted to be here at the ground level to help shape that a little bit," Lowe said.

Reynolds told the task force that state Forest Preserve land inside the Adirondack Park and state forest land outside the Blue Line will be totally off limits to ATVs.

There may be possibilities to create trails on conservation easement lands, though, if the group can get the consent of the landowners and enter into agreements about how public ATV use will be managed on the property, including mapping the trail network and establishing rights of way.

While the former Champion timberlands have been mentioned as a possibility for ATV trails, Reynolds said those lands would be difficult because state fee lands intersect with the private land.

"That route is a tough one," Reynolds said.

The former Domtar lands, now known as the Chateaugay Woodlands, which mostly sit in the town of Bellmont, would be a better place to start looking at ATV trails, Reynolds said.

Reynolds has been heading up the creation of a DEC recreation plan for the Domtar lands, which would include 32.5 miles of ATV use on existing roads.

"There's challenges, but it's not insurmountable," Reynolds said.

The county has looked at establishing ATV trails in the past, but they were always stopped short of being created. The push to restart the effort came when the trail coordinator for Lewis County visited the county Legislature in July and shared his vision of an ATV trail system that would run from Lewis County through St. Lawrence, Franklin and Clinton counties to Canada or Vermont.

Streiff asked the goal of the task force is to make that connection, or just open up access for ATV users in Franklin County in one form or another. When a member of the task force said the goal is to make the county-to-county connection, Streiff said it may be easier to get some ATV use established first, then work toward a connection on a longer-term basis.

Reynolds said it may be difficult to find a route across the county because of the patchwork of land types.

The group established three committees to concentrate on specific areas. The trail oversight committee, which will sift through existing trails and try to identify potential ones, will be made up of county Legislator Tim Burpoe, D-Saranac Lake, and Theron White, president of an ATV club in Dickinson.

The legal and insurance committee, which will examine laws as they pertain to ATV use and look at what kind of insurance will be necessary to protect against liability, will be made up of legislators Daniel Crippen, D-Burke, and Raymond Susice, D-St. Regis Falls.

The educational and enforcement committee members, who will act as liaisons between enforcement agencies and communicate with ATV clubs and the general public about responsible ATV use, will be made up of Ronald Reyome, head of the county Traffic Safety Board, and Raymond Miles, who works for a Malone ATV retailer.

The task force will meet again on Oct. 1.

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Source: http://adirondackdailyenterprise.com/page/content.detail/id/508407.html?nav=5008

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