A Warrensburg man is part of a small group that has retained Lake Placid attorney Matthew Norfolk with the intention of filing a federal lawsuit against the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Adirondack Park Agency, claiming those state agencies are in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act for closing 40 Adirondack lakes to floatplanes.
Maynard Baker says that the policy of prohibiting floatplanes from lakes in wilderness areas in the Park discriminates against people with disabilities. The anticipated lawsuit will claim that persons with disabilities have been denied reasonable accommodations to access areas of the Park in violation of the ADA, according to a press release from Norfolk.
"These people have been so discriminatory against the disabled," Baker said. "It's time for them to explain this to a judge."
Baker would not give details of how many were going to join the lawsuit, only saying "several" were involved.
Baker, a floatplane operator himself, has provided the Enterprise with a list of 40 lakes that he said were used by floatplanes prior to the APA. The list includes lakes in eight wilderness areas. The majority of lakes are in the West Canada Lakes, Pigeon Lake and Five Ponds wilderness areas. Lows Lake, which is slated to close to floatplanes in three years, is not on the list.
"Once upon a time, there were approximately 40 lakes in the Adirondack Park open for float planes, which disabled people, including our veterans, could use to enjoy the remote, wilderness parts of the Park," Baker said in a written statement. "The state through the acts of the DEC and APA have systematically closed the most beautiful, secluded lakes and wilderness areas to Americans with disabilities. Now, only those who can walk can enjoy all that the Park has to offer. This is against federal law."
The lawsuit would be filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.
Norfolk recently represented Lake Placid Snowmobile Club President Jim McCulley in his case challenging a ticket the DEC issued to him for driving his truck on Old Mountain Road, a part of the Jackrabbit Ski Trail, which is located in the Sentinel Mountain Range Wilderness. McCulley won the case.
Floatplanes have been grabbing headlines in recent years because there is a pending ban of them at Lows Lake, southwest of Tupper Lake. The ban was first included in the Bog River Complex Unit Management Plan, which went into effect in 2003. The ban was slated to start in 2008 but is now scheduled for 2011. The Lows Lake situation has brought out strong opinions on both sides of the issue.
Baker said that neither Lows Lake, nor generalized motorized access to the Forest Preserve, will be the main focus of this lawsuit.
"I'm not going for roads, trails, nothing," Baker said. "I'm just going for the 40 lakes for seaplanes."
Phone calls to the APA in Ray Brook and DEC in Albany were not returned.