DEC issues plan for Westward Waters in Lewis County
The state Department of Environmental Conservation has announced its plans for a complex of forests and fishing access sites on the western edge of the Adirondack Park.
The Westward Waters Unit Management Plan details the DEC’s plans for a dozen state forests as well as several other sites in Lewis County. The final plan is dated for August 2016, after the DEC took public comments on the UMP, and was made available in mid-December.
The unit contains more than 39,430 total acres of state-owned parcels in the towns of Croghan, Diana, Greig, Lyonsdale, New Bremen and Watson.
“These lands provide recreational opportunities, including hiking, hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, horseback riding, trapping, and bird watching, and are also an important source of forest products,” a press release from the DEC said.
The Westward Waters area includes a demonstration area at the DEC’s Lowville office, the Otter Creek Horse Trail Complex, Lake Bonaparte and Eatonville campsites, and several fishing access sites, including Crystal Creek, Burdick’s Crossing, Castorland, Beeches Bridge, Lowville, Glenfield, Denley Dam and Deer River.
All of the areas covered by the plan are outside the Adirondack Park, but several are next to Adirondack Forest Preserve lands.
To read the plan, go to www.dec.ny.gov/lands/91857.html.