Opposition To Camping At GLSP

by Alex Brooks
The NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation held a public hearing on the proposed Master Plan for the Grafton Lakes State Park. It began with a short presentation on the main points of the Master Plan.
The first priority items are to design and install a new nature center which will include an amphitheater for lectures and performances and a warming hut for winter recreation activities. The existing nature center at Shaver Pond will be recycled for some other use, possibly for housing of Park interns. Another first priority item is to finish restoration of the Dickinson Hill Fire Tower and open it to the public. Other first priority items are to begin a program to combat invasive species, to rehabilitate the south picnic area and to do surveys of rare plants and animals in the Park and of aquatic plants in the Park.
Second priority items are to install a new camping area between Long Pond and Long Pond Road, to build some new 4-season cabins near White Lily Pond, to build a new Park Office near the main entrance and to install a new full basketball court at Rabbit Run.
Third priority items include installing a second pavilion and a Bocce court and enlarging the basketball court at Deerfield, converting Shaver Pond Nature Center into intern housing and doing feasibility studies of a second beach on Long Pond and the outflow of the Martin Dunham Reservoir.
The full Draft Plan is available for review at the Park Office or at the Grafton Community Library or may be found online at www.nysParks.com/inside-our-agency/Master-Plans.aspx.
The creation of the Plan began at the beginning of this year with a public meeting at the Tamarac School in late January. The Draft Plan was completed on November 9, and the comment period will remain open until December 16. Comments may be addressed to Alane Ball Chinian, Regional Director, NYS OPRHP, 19 Roosevelt Drive, Saratoga Springs, NY, 12866.
Camping Under Fire
Paul Boucher, who lives on Long Pond Road, emphatically opposed the introduction of camping, which he termed an “ill-advised idea” which he expects will prove to be an intrusion on both residents and visitors. The greatly increased traffic in the summer and the “inevitable noise and litter” will “destroy the peace and quiet of Long Pond Road” he predicted, and he urged the Park Planners to reconsider this “unwanted and unnecessary development.” He also wondered why the Park would spend large sums on such a project when State government is having so much difficulty balancing its budget and State workers are being laid off. He suggested they use the money to repave Route 2 and to preserve and maintain the Park rather than building a new campground.
A number of other speakers criticized the camping proposal, though none were quite as strident as Boucher. Local ecologist David Hunt said the forest in which the camping is proposed is a rare forest locally which should be protected. He urged that camping be relocated closer to the existing Park development. Dan O’Brien also asked that the campsites be located closer to the existing buildings and activity to preserve more of the beautiful quiet forests which are one of the Park’s greatest features. He suggested they could be located behind and above the existing beach where there are now 15 unused picnic sites.
A concept plan suggested that there could be 75 camping sites, although the Plan says the final number would be determined by more detailed Planning considerations. Several of the speakers said they thought 75 is too many and wondered if the Plan could be scaled back.
Another concern, expressed by both Councilman-elect Rick Ungaro and Rescue Squad Captain Linda Baldwin, was that the camping may lead to an increased burden on the Town Ambulance and Fire volunteers.
Reduced Tax Base
The other major theme of the evening was the burden imposed on the Town by having so much of its land area removed from the property tax rolls. When Boucher said, “The Town has never been re-imbursed for the taking of the tax base,” that was met with a lot of applause. Highway Superintendent Herb Hasbrouck thought, in view of the Park having taken so much of the Town’s tax base away, some part of the camping fees should be shared with the Town. School Board Member John Nash made a similar point about school tax revenues. He said having no revenues from the extensive State properties in the Berlin School District puts it in a difficult financial situation. “The State needs to help us out with educating our children,” Nash concluded.
Free Access to Park
Many of the speakers said that the Park should at the very least allow free entrance to the Park for local residents. Rick Ungaro said when he was campaigning he heard that from a lot of people. Two or three of the speakers made that the centerpiece of their comments.
Park Entrance
Grafton Fire Chief Jim Goyer said the Park needs to do something to make the main entrance safer. There are a lot of car accidents there and unnecessary injuries and property damage, he said. He urged the Park to undertake a study of ways to make that intersection safer.
Rensselaer County Planner Linda von der Heide said she thought a turning lane there would work better than the jug handle now in use. “Either that or a real stop light,” she said.
Final Plan
The comments offered this week were recorded, and a chapter of the final Master Plan will be devoted to comments received and the Planners’ responses to them. It is not yet known when the final Master Plan will be completed, and Park officials offered no timelines on how long these projects might take to complete once the Master Plan is approved.