RAY BROOK – The state Adirondack Park Agency will begin classifying lands in the Park for the first time since the Essex Chain classification a little more than two years ago.

The classification package the APA took up at its regular monthly meeting last week is a monster of a package as well. More than 50,000 acres need to be classified or modified in some way, from the more than 20,000-acre Boreas Ponds tract to a 0.03-acre parcel.

In addition to the Boreas tract, there are several other notable pieces of land on which the agency will decide after taking public comments.

The agency is also proposing to classify the 7,365-acre McIntyre West tract as wilderness, adding it to High Peaks Wilderness with a 3.1-acre primitive designation due to deed restrictions.

“We haven’t done classification outside of Essex in five years,” APA Deputy Director of Planning Kathy Regan said in response to APA Commissioner Art Lussi’s question about why so many parcels were being considered at once. “We’re way behind.”

Of the 102 parcels to be classified, some are new acquisitions, while other classification decisions are due to map errors or parcels that were purchased previously and never classified.

Comments can be submitted to a new email address: classificationcomments@apa.ny.gov, and written comments will be accepted until Dec. 30 this year. The APA has also scheduled eight public hearings where verbal comments will be accepted. Verbal comments are limited to three minutes, but Regan said that written and verbal comments carry the same weight.

Regan also said that the comment period and hearings will include comments on all parcels, not just Boreas.

To see the classification recommendations and when and where the public hearings are, visit www.apa.ny.gov/State_Land/index.html.