Old Mountain Road plan now includes limited ATV use
No referendum; proposed Keene law could take effect next yearBy MIKE LYNCH, Enterprise Outdoors Writer
It appears the town of Keene will not hold a referendum on Old Mountain Road this fall and is instead working on a town law that would allow limited use of ATVs on the road for Keene residents during big-game hunting season.
The decision to pursue the law was made at a special town board meeting held Wednesday evening.
"We're not going to referendum," Keene Supervisor William Ferebee said Friday. "We're going to town law, which will allow four-wheelers, or ATVs, from the weekend following Columbus Day until Dec. 15 in the Keene end."
This summer, Ferebee had said the town was leaning toward a referendum. That changed after the town board decided it would be best to enact a local law after getting input from the public.
"We just felt that the general public wouldn't have understood what our message was, so we unanimously decided to just do a town law to that respect," Ferebee said. "It'll be a basically hunting season time frame, with, again, restricting use to town of Keene residents only, ATVs only - and again, they have to produce proper town paperwork that they are a town resident."
The town would not permit snowmobiles.
Ferebee said that under this proposed town law, ATV users would be required to get a special permit displayed by a sticker on their vehicle and the use of ATVs would also only be allowed on the first section of the trail on the Keene side, ending where a beaver pond exists.
He also said the town still may make changes to the law and that a public hearing will be held in the coming weeks or months with the goal of having the law enacted by the end of 2009.
Motorized use had been banned on Old Mountain Road in recent years because it's in the Sentinel Range Wilderness. But in May, state Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis tossed out a fine against Lake Placid Snowmobile Club President Jim McCulley for driving his truck on Old Mountain Road in 2005, stating the road - a 3.5-mile section of the Jackrabbit Ski Trail - was under the jurisdiction of the towns of North Elba and Keene. Since then, Keene, which has the majority of the road, has been grappling with what to do with it.
McCulley, who has stayed out of the Old Mountain Road debate at the town level, said the road could accommodate snowmobiles and skiers, but he was happy to hear that some hunters may one day ride ATVs on it.
"I think it's great," McCulley said. "I think everyone who would like to use it should use it."
Keene resident Tony Goodwin, executive director of the Adirondack Ski Touring Council, was responsible for leading the effort to reopen the road to skiers two decades ago and currently maintains it. Goodwin said he agreed with the decision the town board made Wednesday. He said the referendum may have been confusing "because the idea was to allow motorized use but to limit it" and it was too difficult to come up with language to express the specific limitations.
"I had not been in favor of the referendum from the moment it was first proposed because I didn't think they could word a question on a ballot that could really be understood by the majority of the people," Goodwin said.
He said this decision would also help "reduce the chance we have an us against them war on the Old Mountain Road."
But the decision could draw objections from environmental organizations who have fought motorized use in other areas of the Park.
"I tend to think that any form of motorized use on the land is likely to bring some sort of challenge either from us, or other organizations, or a group of organizations," said Adirondack Council spokesman John Sheehan.
The use of Old Mountain Road may also be affected if there is a reversal of the DEC's May decision. Currently, the Adirondack Council, state Adirondack Park Agency and an attorney from DEC's Region 6 offices have asked Grannis to revisit his decision. Grannis has yet to address those appeals.
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Contact Mike Lynch at (518) 891-2600 ext. 28 or mlynch@adirondackdailyenterprise.
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shipsaint
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09-28-09 4:53 PM
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another hobby permitt we have to pay for,will the stickers match the state signs,in color scemes,i hope so,or there will be another rediculus argument in the papers,lol
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twinrivers
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09-27-09 6:22 PM
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Reassuring that in the end the town has come out not far off from the uses allowed under the wilderness protection. The Keene-hunters-only ATV exception is a kind gesture to neighbors, but maybe this isn't the best course. The DEC or APA will no doubt have the final word. It seems likely that further legal examination will confirm the jurisdiction of one or both agencies.
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Afinehowdoyoudo
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09-26-09 8:48 PM
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jackkk- really. what is wrong with you? spell it out.
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jackkk
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09-26-09 7:52 PM
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Beware of the Apa employees /protagonists trying to interject themselves into this controversy. They will surely try to influence it. Abolish the APA and the rest of the Marxists!!
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northcountrynell
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09-26-09 2:25 PM
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phahn50...I see XC skiers, rabbit hunters, hikers etc....not only on back trails but on the #7 corrider...I dont' mind at least they are doing what they enjoy and there is plenty of room for all. My point /comment on this whole story is that myself and others I know have used the OMR in the mid 70's and 80's for all kinds of rec purposes. Nobody cared. We didnt speed, tear it up or leave garbage....and it was never really heavily used at all....at least by snowmobilers...I guess a different time and place...oh well, not worth arguing about now....I got all the OMR trips out of my system 30 years ago.....and on boggie wheels too...ahhhhh but thats another story.
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phahn50
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09-26-09 1:26 PM
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I have X-C skied with the dogs on the train-tracks (on super icy days). I wave to the snowmobilers, they wave back. Im sure they were irritated they had to slow down while I (and the dogs) got out of the way but the smiles seemed genuine. That may no longer be the case, which would be a shame.
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northcountrynell
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09-26-09 12:03 PM
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continued from beloe. Also...1) I am not a village employee 2) this is not my secred cow. The chances of a connector for all of Essex Co via snowmobile trail is a slim to none idea given the current Eco/financial feel. Most likely if YOU just wanted to ride the OMR once in a while...no one would say boo....except that excludes you turning yourself in.
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northcountrynell
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09-26-09 11:57 AM
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Sorry vendor...but your calling DEC for a ticket was still childish. I grew up on property that backed up to the OMR in the 70s and 80s, I rode my dirt bikes, snowmobiles and ATvs on it for 20 years...never a complaint and never a ticket....also could count the other sledders I ran into on one hand.....no one rode it. I also met up with a bunch of XC skiers many times....I slowed down...they waved...and we went or sep. ways. By making this a bigger issue than it ever had to be...it will never be anything more than a bad taste in anyones mouth. I for one at this point would rather ride the current trail system from SL to anywhere......grooming is GREAT and there are destinations to go to. The OMR was bumpy, full of rocks, narrow in spots. It was fun when I was 12. This turned into a personal issue with you and I believe if the NYSSA did not kick in for lawyers fees it would have gone a away long ago.
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vendor
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09-26-09 11:39 AM
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phahn, I am finally off my meds so I am lucid again. LOL I have explained it over the years a number of times. But to get it into a news article is very hard.
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phahn50
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09-26-09 11:29 AM
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Vendor - thats the first lucid explanation I've heard from you of why you want the old mountain road trail for snow mobiles. (But you and nell are getting too personal)
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vendor
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09-26-09 9:36 AM
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A person who works in your position. Really shouldn't be so angry because people make a comment on your sacred cow.
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vendor
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09-26-09 9:32 AM
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First off Nell, had you read a little deeper. You would have seen this was a proposal to connect all of Essex County by snowmobile trail The Essex County Association was asked by Bob Dieterich (Ticonderoga) Kathy Mosses (Schroon Lake) and Teresa Sayward (Willsboro) to create a trail system that connected from Lake Placid through Essex County to Lake George. We attempted to achieve this through the Adirondack Snowmobile Plan. Since this was hijacked along the way. We had no other choice but to be wronged by receiving a ticket. What you call childish was a legal maneuver that had to be done. You are right there are more trails in Franklin County, but this trail is a matter of around 6 miles to connect into current Essex County snowmobile roads and into the Lewis trail system. That would then connect all of Essex County. Obviously you are still angry about the legitimate study on over paying village workers. I know that's personal to you.
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northcountrynell
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09-26-09 7:05 AM
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After reading the Sept 2009 NYSSA report where Jim McCulley was listed as a guest speaker and he stated that he drove his sled from N.Elba to Keene on the OMR and then CALLED DEC and asked for a ticket was childish. The whole ordeal was childish. The fact is the OMR is so far away from the major snowmobile hub only a few would use it...when there is a groomed trail system from LP to SL and from there just about anywhere in the Park and northcountry.I believe it was just a personal war with a "we the public" front...sorry JIm. As far as atv use..the few hunters in Keene that use ATVS in the woods have been doing it for years...they are quiet, respectful and dont make a big deal about it..no one has really cared and all were happy...now it will become a big deal...this too will blow over. Moderation is the key to people being able to live in a great place like ours and be able to do the things we want.Now we get more laws, rules, regulations..at least a nifty sticker for you
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