The North Country Trail Association has filed a petition under CPLR Article 78 against New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) and Tri-Valley Trail Riders, Inc. seeking to reverse recent actions resulting in the apparent loss of approximately nine miles of North Country National Scenic Trail in Madison County, NY. The lawsuit was filed March 26 in Albany County, location of OPRHP administrative offices.


The disputed section of North Country National Scenic Trail (NCNST) was certified by the National Park Service in 2010 after 11 years of volunteer labor by the Central New York Chapter of the North Country Trail Association (NCTA) to reclaim the abandoned right of way of the former Lehigh Valley Railroad (LVRR) and convert it to a primitive footpath and hiking trail. The NCTA chapter worked under two permits issued in 2002 and 2006 by the regional office of the OPRHP, which owns the former LVRR right of way. Both permits specifically stipulated development of a ‘hiking trail.’



The North Country National Scenic Trail was designated by Congress in 1980 as an amendment to the National Trails System Act of 1968, the same bill that authorized the NCNST’s better known sister trails, the Appalachian and Pacific Crest National Scenic Trails. The North Country Trail is the longest in the National Trails System, stretching 4600 miles from the middle of North Dakota to the Vermont border of New York. In New York State it shares the Finger Lakes Trail tread for some 410 miles from Allegany State Park in western NY to its Onondaga Branch segment in central NY within the Tioughnioga Wildlife Management Area.

 

From there the North Country Trail uses the Link Trail to Canastota, then heading northeast toward the Adirondacks and its eastern terminus at Crown Point on Lake Champlain. The Madison County section includes the former LVRR right of way between Cazenovia and Canastota, a critical link in getting this non-motorized hiking trail closer to the Adirondacks. The National Park Service is the administering authority for the NCNST, and certifies sections of the still-to-be-completed trail whenever certain standards are met. Non-motorized use is one of the requirements.

In July 2011 NCTA’s Central NY chapter requested a re-issuance of their OPRHP permit prior to its August 1 expiration, and were assured by OPRHP in an August 2 letter that the process was under way. On October 7 NCTA finally received a draft of a new permit from OPRHP, which contained substantial changes, in particular replacing the previous ‘hiking trail’ language with the term ‘multiple use.’ After notifying OPRHP that these changes needed careful review and discussion, NCTA was assured by OPRHP to “take your time to review it.” OPRHP personnel failed to mention then or later that a permit application to use this same section of trail was currently under consideration from the Tri-Valley Trail Riders, a snowmobile group.


Subsequently, without any further notice to NCTA or following State Environmental Quality Review Act requirements, OPRHP issued permits to Tri-Valley Trail Riders, who in late November used heavy construction equipment to clear a 1.5 mile long, 18 to 27 foot wide corridor through the trees and vegetation, destroying the footpath experience, and damaging the trail’s surface and its ability to withstand erosion.

 

Damages documented through irrefutable photographic evidence included tree trunks, soil and other debris bulldozed into or on the banks of streams including a classified trout stream. Adding salt to the wound, central region OPRHP then issued a grossly misleading press release thanking the NCTA for cooperation it never requested and celebrating a collaboration that never existed between snowmobile clubs and the NCTA .

“The NCTA deeply regrets this lost opportunity to support an appropriate planning dialog designed to meet all trail-related needs in central New York,” stated Bruce Matthews, executive director of the NCTA. “This unfortunate situation has forced NCTA and Tri-Valley into a competitive stance which could easily have been avoided. Now our group of citizen stewards is being disenfranchised by the very agency with which we’ve built a foundation of trust and invested thousands of dollars and hours of sweat equity. “



NCTA seeks to create a world-class footpath celebrating America’s northern heartlands, a unique and singular place where those preferring a more slow-paced, quiet and intimate connection with the natural world can find a place to recreate year-round-whether by hiking, snow-shoeing, cross-country skiing, adventure running or similar pursuits. As it is completed the North Country National Scenic Trail supports quality of life values and economic benefits for communities throughout the trail corridor.

 

“We should not be sacrificing the rare in pursuit of more of what snowmobile advocates already call ‘the vast New York State Snowmobile System,’ even as we support our snowmobiling friends in their efforts to create a world-class trail system of their own,” Matthews affirmed. “In spite of these extremely unfortunate circumstances forcing our hand in filing this petition, the NCTA seeks only to maintain the unique nature of the North Country Trail experience and fulfill the intent of the National Trails System Act.

 

We hope this will lead to a more enlightened trails planning approach and stronger partnerships with both OPRHP and the larger recreation community in the future.” NCTA seeks to create a world-class footpath celebrating America’s northern heartlands, a unique and singular place where those preferring a more slow-paced, quiet and intimate connection with the natural world can find a place to recreate year-round-whether by hiking, snow-shoeing, cross-country skiing, adventure running or similar pursuits. As it is completed the North Country National Scenic Trail supports quality of life values and economic benefits for communities throughout the trail corridor.

 

“We should not be sacrificing the rare in pursuit of more of what snowmobile advocates already call ‘the vast New York State Snowmobile System,’ even as we support our snowmobiling friends in their efforts to create a world-class trail system of their own,” Matthews affirmed. “In spite of these extremely unfortunate circumstances forcing our hand in filing this petition, the NCTA seeks only to maintain the unique nature of the North Country Trail experience and fulfill the intent of the National Trails System Act. We hope this will lead to a more enlightened trails planning approach and stronger partnerships with both OPRHP and the larger recreation community in the future.”


The North Country Trail Association is a national non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the building and maintaining of the North Country National Scenic Trail, and telling its story. With members, chapters, partners and affiliates located along the 4600-mile length of the trail through America’s northern heartlands, the NCTA is the primary advocate for the North Country Trail, and the red plaid nation that uses and is celebrated by it.