November  11, 2009, Long Lake, NY –  In early September the Adirondack Park Agency(APA) staff issued a set of draft guidelines for snowmobile trails on public land designated as forest preserve in the Adirondack Park.  The New York State Snowmobile Association(NYSSA) reviewed the proposed guidelines and found them to represent a balanced approach to resolving concerns from snowmobilers, local governments, and environmental groups. After a public comment period, the APA and Department of Environmental Conservation(DEC) interagency staff published revisions to the guidelines for consideration and approval at the APA meeting this week. While NYSSA has concerns about some of the staff modifications to the guidelines, NYSSA continues to support the draft and urges the APA to accept the staff guidelines and approve them during the agency meeting on Friday, November 13.

“NYSSA believes that DEC and APA staff members have provided the best set of recommendations for the APA Board to consider, given the tough questions they faced,” said Michael Fischer, NYSSA president. He added that “the guidelines represent a balanced approach to many of the issues.”

Dave Perkins, NYSSA Trails Coordinator, agreed. “True compromise is when all affected parties feel they didn’t get their way,” said Perkins. He went on to applaud DEC and APA staff for conducting field visits with NYSSA representatives and other interested parties to help with the drafting process. While snowmobilers have legitimate concerns about some of the guidelines details, NYSSA believes the guidelines are in full compliance with the Adirondack State Land Master Plan.

The more than 100,000 members of NYSSA urge the APA to approve the recommendations as soon as possible so that the volunteer clubs who are responsible for snowmobile trail maintenance can begin to work out the necessary details for future trail efforts. Jim Jennings, NYSSA Executive Director, voiced support for the work accomplished during this interagency process, saying “NYSSA has worked for years to get clarification of some of the vagaries in the snowmobile regulations, and we now have many of the answers we needed.”

Founded in 1975, NYSSA is the voice of more than 100,000 snowmobilers in New York State, and provides support for the 230 local clubs maintaining over 11,000 miles of local snowmobile and multiuse trails.  Visit NYSSA online at www.nysnowmobiler.com.

For more information:
Jim Jennings, NYSSA Executive Director
PO Box 612, Long Lake, NY 12847-0612
Tel. 518-624-3849, Fax 518-624-2441
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