I received the below e-mail from a friend in the NYS conservation council. The e-mail is in regards to action taken by several green groups,( Serria Club, Protect the Adirondacks, Adirondack Wild) to block a D.E.C. plan to allow 200 hunting camps to remain on State Easement lands. If this plan is shot down all 200 camps will be torn down and the hunting clubs will probably be disbanded. This is a precedent setting decision which will effect thousands of other camps in NY. Take a look at the info below, I will be attaching a letter we can send to our elected officials supporting D.E.C. plan , please help your fellow sportsman keep their cabins.
you can see the letters from the green groups to the state AG and Comptroller office further down the page.
Below you will find information regarding
communication sent to the AG and State Comptroller by several green groups
regarding the D.E.C.'s plan to allow camps to remain on the former Champion
Lands. In the end this is about more than the Champion Lands, it is about
thousands of other camps used for sporting, family recreation, snowmobiling and
ATVing, that currently exist on easement lands, that would likely be saved
through the DEC's precedent setting decision. It is also about the selfish
desires of some groups to impose their beliefs and will on hard working
taxpayers with different lifestyles and recreational pursuits.
This has to be of serious concern to our elected
officials, our local businesses and all in the sporting and snowmobiling
community We need to work with elected officials to be sure the D.E.C.’s
current plan comes to fruition, thousands of other camps are saved, our
traditions are maintained and that laws are enacted to curtail the action
of these enviro-litigants.
You will soon receive an action alert that I will be
preparing to be sent to elected officials and key policy makers.
Please distribute this e-mail to improve
awareness of this looming problem.
From the Protect the Adirondacks Website Jan. 31, 2012
Heartwood Easements at Risk
January 25, 2012
Coalition puts AG and Comptroller on notice; Imminent and actual
violation of State law by DEC’s proposed
modification of State-owned conservation easements on property
owned by the Heartwood Forestland Fund III, LP
A Joint
Letter from:
Sierra Club-Atlantic
Chapter-Adirondack Committee
Protect the Adirondacks
Adirondack Wild:
Friends of the Forest Preserve
Atlantic States Legal Foundation, Inc.
September 30, 2011
Hon. Thomas P. DiNapoli
Comptroller, State of New York
110 State Street
Albany, NY 12236
Re: Imminent and actual violation of State law by DEC’s proposed
modification of State-owned conservation easements on property owned by the
Heartwood Forestland Fund III, LP
Dear Comptroller DiNapoli:
We urgently request that you exercise your authority to stop the imminent
and actual egregious violations of State law described below. We would like to
have the opportunity to discuss this serious matter with you at the earliest
possible time.
In order to modify (or extinguish) State-held conservation easements in the
Adirondack Park or Catskill Park, the NYS Department of Environmental
Conservation is required by Section 49-0307(3)(d) of Article 49, Title 3 of the
Environmental Conservation Law to first hold a public hearing after which the
Commissioner of Environmental Conservation must make a determination that the
easement can no longer “substantially accomplish its original purposes or any
of the purposes set forth in Section 49-0301,” which section is a statement of
policy and purposes for such easements.
This summer DEC completed an Environmental Impact Statement for its proposal
to modify three State-owned easements in the Adirondack Park,
purchased in 1998 with State bond act funds, that it administers on 110,000
acres of industrial forest land owned by the Heartwood Forestland Fund III, LP.
The 1998 purchase agreements provided in part for removal of more than 200
hunting cabins within 15 years (now coming up) and the recreational, wildlife
and water quality benefits of doing so were clearly described in the EIS at
that time. Since 1998 DEC has changed its policy about eliminating hunting
cabins when purchasing conservation easements and now wants to re-visit this
1998 acquisition to make it conform to the new policy.
However, DEC has not complied with the hearing and determination
requirements of Section 49-0307 (3)(d). We were informed in late July that DEC
would be convening two public information meetings about the easement
modifications, but even if they are convened they hardly qualify as hearings
and they would be held after-the-fact of a completed SEQRA process. In fact,
apart from the lack of a public hearing during the SEQRA process, DEC cannot in
truth make the required determination. Clearly, the three easements can still
“substantially accomplish” their original purposes without modification. DEC
cannot say that they will not. The 1998 cabin removal provision would still
benefit the wildlife, water quality and recreational purposes of the agreement
and Section 49-0301, obviously much more so than by leaving the cabins in place
as DEC now wants to do.
Further, the proposed modification may be fraught with serious unresolved
issues of “equal value,” which the State is required to obtain in such a
transaction so as to avoid violating the “gift clause” of the State
constitution. This would be of particular concern to you, we presume. Apart
from the fact that the State already paid in 1998 for cabin removal as part of
the overall purchase price, if the modification were to be approved Heartwood
would stand to gain considerable monies from fees received from leasing land to
the hunting clubs in future years. In return for modifying the easements to
leave cabins standing, Heartwood proposes to give the State a fee title
interest in a couple of thousand acres of its land, most of which will be added
to the Forest Preserve. However, there is nothing special about this land
except for the Deer
River area which already
is under a conservation easement. Most of it is run-of-the mill industrial
forest land that could be purchased anywhere in the Adirondacks.
Also, most of this land is to be carved from one of the tracts on which the
State has already purchased an easement, Since the value of the easements
already purchased by the State is about 50% of the total value of the land, the
value of the remaining fee title interest to be transferred to the State to
satisfy “equal value” requirements is worth only 50% of total value. Simply
put, the State would not get enough value from Heartwood in return for leaving
the cabins standing, as compared with the benefits to be gained from cabin
removal. While DEC adamantly maintains that equal value would be achieved, they
have provided no documentation despite our repeated requests for it over the
years.
We believe that DEC is on the verge of submitting the proposed Heartwood
easement(s) modification to you for approval, if you have not already received
it. We encourage you and your staff to be on the alert for such a request.
As we said, we will appreciate having an opportunity to discuss this matter
with you at the earliest possible time. One of us will call to request an
appointment. Thank you.
Sincerely,
John W. Caffry
John W. Caffry, Co-Chair, Conservation Committee, PROTECT THE ADIRONDACKS
c/o Caffry & Flower, 100 Bay
Street, Glens Falls, NY 12801
David Gibson
David Gibson, Partner, ADIRONDACK WILD: FRIENDS OF THE FOREST
PRESERVE
P.O. Box 9247, Niskayuna, NY 12309
Dan Plumley
Dan Plumley, Partner, ADIRONDACK WILD: FRIENDS OF THE FOREST
PRESERVE
P.O. Box 746, Keene Valley, NY 12943
Samuel H. Sage
Samuel H. Sage, President/Senior Scientist, ATLANTIC STATES LEGAL
FOUNDATION, INC.
658 West Onondaga Street,
Syracuse, NY, 13204-3711
Charles C. Morrison
Charles C. Morrison, Project Coordinator, SIERRA CLUB, ATLANTIC CHAPTER,
ADIRONDACK COMMITTEE, c/o 88 Court Street, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
cc. Shawn C. Thompson, Chief of Staff. OSC
A Joint
Letter from:
Sierra Club-Atlantic
Chapter-Adirondack Committee
Protect the Adirondacks
Adirondack Wild:
Friends of the Forest Preserve
Atlantic States Legal Foundation, Inc.
October 6, 2011
Hon. Eric T. Schneiderman
Attorney General, State of New York
State Capitol
Albany, NY
12224-0341
Re: Imminent and actual violation of State law by DEC’s proposed
modification of State-owned conservation easements on property
owned by the Heartwood Forestland Fund III, LP
Dear Attorney General Schneiderman:
We urgently request that you exercise your authority to stop the imminent
and actual egregious violations of State law described below. We would like to
have the opportunity to discuss this serious matter with you at the earliest
possible time.
In order to modify (or extinguish) State-held conservation easements in the
Adirondack Park or Catskill Park, the NYS Department of Environmental
Conservation is required by Section 49-0307(3)(d) of Article 49, Title 3 of the
Environmental Conservation Law to first hold a public hearing after which the
Commissioner of Environmental Conservation must make a determination that the
easement can no longer “substantially accomplish its original purposes or any
of the purposes set forth in Section 49-0301,” which section is a statement of
policy and purposes for such easements.
This past summer DEC completed an Environmental Impact Statement for its
proposal to modify three State-owned easements in the Adirondack Park,
purchased in 1999 with State bond act funds, that it administers on 110,000
acres of industrial forest land owned by the Heartwood Forestland Fund III, LP.
The 1999 purchase agreements provided in part for removal of 208 hunting cabins
within 15 years (now coming up) and the recreational, wildlife and water
quality benefits of doing so were clearly described in the EIS at that time.
Since 1999 DEC has changed its policy about eliminating hunting cabins when
purchasing conservation easements and now wants to re-visit this 1999
acquisition to make it conform to the new policy.
However, DEC has not complied with the hearing and determination
requirements of Section 49-0307 (3)(d). We were informed in late July that DEC
would be convening two public information meetings about the easement
modifications, but even if they are convened they hardly qualify as hearings
and they would be held after-the-fact of a completed SEQRA process. In fact,
apart from the lack of a public hearing during the SEQRA process, DEC cannot in
truth make the determination required by 49-0307(3)(d). Clearly, the three
easements can still “substantially accomplish” their original purposes without
modification. DEC cannot say that they will not. The 1999 cabin removal
provision would still benefit the wildlife, water quality and recreational
purposes of the agreement and Section 49-0301, obviously much more so than by
leaving the 208 cabins in place as DEC now wants to do.
Further, the proposed modification may be fraught with serious unresolved
issues of “equal value,” which the State is required to obtain in such a
transaction so as to avoid violating the “gift clause” of the State
constitution. Apart from the fact that the State already paid in 1999 for cabin
removal as part of the overall purchase price, if the modification were to be
approved Heartwood would stand to gain considerable monies from fees received
from leasing land to the hunting clubs in future years. In return for modifying
the easements to leave cabins standing, Heartwood proposes to give the State a
fee title interest in a couple of thousand acres of its land, most of which
will be added to the Forest Preserve. However, there is nothing special about
this land except for the Deer
River area which already
is under a conservation easement. Most of it is run-of-the mill industrial
forest land that could be purchased anywhere in the Adirondacks.
Also, most of this land is to be carved from one of the tracts on which the
State has already purchased an easement, Since the value of the easements
already purchased by the State is about 50% of the total value of the land, the
value of the remaining fee title interest to be transferred to the State to
satisfy “equal value” requirements is really worth only 50% of total value.
Simply put, the State would not get enough value from Heartwood in return for
leaving the cabins standing, as compared with the benefits to be gained from
cabin removal. While DEC adamantly maintains that equal value would be
achieved, they have provided no documentation despite our repeated requests for
it over the years.
We believe that DEC is on the verge of submitting the proposed Heartwood
easement(s) modification to you for approval as required by Article 49, if you
have not already received it. We encourage you and your staff to be on the
alert for such a request.
As we said, we will appreciate having an opportunity to discuss this matter
with you at the earliest possible time. One of us will call to request an
appointment. Thank you.
Sincerely,
John W. Caffry
John W. Caffry, Co-Chair, Conservation Committee, PROTECT THE ADIRONDACKS
c/o Caffry & Flower, 100 Bay
Street, Glens Falls, NY 12801
David Gibson
David Gibson, Partner, ADIRONDACK WILD: FRIENDS OF THE FOREST
PRESERVE
P.O. Box 9247, Niskayuna, NY 12309
Dan Plumley
Dan Plumley, Partner, ADIRONDACK WILD: FRIENDS OF THE FOREST
PRESERVE
P.O. Box 746, Keene Valley, NY 12943
Samuel H. Sage
Samuel H. Sage, President/Senior Scientist, ATLANTIC STATES LEGAL
FOUNDATION, INC.
658 West Onondaga Street,
Syracuse, NY, 13204-3711
Charles C. Morrison
Charles C. Morrison, Project Coordinator, SIERRA CLUB, ATLANTIC CHAPTER,
ADIRONDACK COMMITTEE, c/o 88 Court Street, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
cc. Lisa Burianek, Deputy Chief, Environmental Protection Bureau, OAG
Jeffrey Dvorkin, Chief, Real Property Bureau, OAG
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