December 21, 2009 Salim Adler, Park Planner Agency Building 1, 17th Floor Empire State Plaza Albany, NY 12238 Re: Additional Comments and Recommendations Allegany State Park Master Planning Process Dear Mr. Adler: I have been in communication with Mr. Thomas Livak of the Allegany State Park staff regarding the proposal and recommendations submitted by the Western New York Mountain Bicycling Association in August 2009. We are grateful that our proposal has been receiving consideration. However, based upon my conversations with Mr. Livak, I understand that there are some concerns with regard to unique forest complexes within portions of the proposed trail location near Cain Hollow. I am submitting this follow-up letter to address two things: Presentation of alternate trail routings, including a new location, and General discussion on the impact of unique forest complexes on trail siting. Revised Trail Proposal Based upon a rough sketch map of the locations of unique forest complexes and general old growth forests in the park, I have digitized the rough locations of these stands and added them to my Geographical Information System (GIS) of the park. The unique forest stands do include about half of the proposed Cain Hollow trail system. Although I am not sure why this would preclude trail development, I have developed a revised proposed trail layout on the attached Figure 5-2A that avoids this stand. I understand that the locations of the stand boundaries are inexact, and may have some errors during my digitization. However, this revised routing does avoid this stand and would at most adjoin the western boundary of the Cain Hollow stand. As with any trail, the exact location would be determined based on field work, but I am confident that this routing can be made acceptable with regards to concerns about this unique forest complex. WNYMBA PO Box 1691 Amherst, NY 14226 www.wnymba.org
For successful trail design, the route needs to be both sustainable and also attractive to its users. Part of what makes a trail attractive is where it starts and ends, and how it fits in with other trails. For this reason, I believe that it is important to have the Cain Hollow trail (if it is indeed not possible to continue as a loop around the hollow) extend to the Stony Brook overlook on ASP 1, even though this means it will come near the unique forest stand. A trail that simply ascends the hill with no connections would not be attractive to justify the effort to build it. In this letter I am also suggesting an additional option for new trail construction. I had originally suggested the Cain Hollow ridge for a trail as the best place for a new trail based on a fairly exhaustive review of available terrain throughout the park. Although 100 square miles appears a lot to work with, the possibilities for singletrack trails are limited by the presence of other trails (either old roads, or trails that are unlikely to be opened to bicycles), or are limited by being exclusively on steep sidehills. While building trails on sidehills is sustainable in that it provides great opportunities for drainage, the ideal locations are the edges of ridges where one can still get drainage, but have reduced bench cutting requirements. Plus, placing trails lower down from ridges and/or in the valleys increases the possibility of seeps and other wet areas that would not be conducive to trail routing. Using these premises, new trail opportunities were limited to the Cain Hollow ridge and the ridges west of Wolf Run, both of which have unique forest stands. The one other possibility is the northern part of the park, west of the stone tower. I have therefore proposed another possible new trail loop, which is shown on the attached Figure 5-1A. This loop meets the criteria of sustainable routing along the edges of ridge tops and along sidehills. It also is near the Art Roscoe trail system that is currently used by bicycles. Its routing is challenged by the presence of some private inholdings in this area. The attached figure has updated inholding boundaries based on the tax maps. Although tax maps are not reliable sources for precise boundary determination, they are suitable for deciding a sustainable route could be laid out in this area without entering private land. This figure shows that parts of the route would pass near old growth stands, but this should not be a factor in evaluating their suitability. I am therefore submitting these proposals as revisions to our August 2009 proposal. These two routes would be in addition to the Art Roscoe extension included in the August proposal, and is included again in the attached Figure 5-1. Discussion of Unique Forest Complexes I am not a biologist, and therefore am not qualified to discuss why the presence of unique forest stands would preclude the possibility of trails. When I was first advised of these stands, my first reaction was that this would be a reason for trail development. I thought surely the public would be interested in seeing these unique stands. I am interested in learning more about how trails affect these stands. I would presume that the presence of these unique stands would also preclude the continued existence of the Mt. Tuscorora Fire Tower Trail, and also the North Country Trail where it enters Pennsylvania. Both of these trails travel directly through such unique forest stands. I would anticipate that reaction to removal of these trails would be strong. Perhaps a better approach would be to study the effect of these existing trails on the unique forest stands. By studying these two existing trails passing through such stands, it should be possible to determine whether the presence of trails actually has a negative effect on these types of forest. If no such adverse effects are observed, perhaps these existing trails would be allowed to remain, and that the Cain Hollow trail as originally envisioned could be completed in the future. WNYMBA PO Box 1691 Amherst, NY 14226 www.wnymba.org
Summary Thank you once again for the consideration of our new trail proposals. Since the presence of unique forest stands in the Cain Hollow area may curtail the extent to which trails can be developed in this area, I urge you to consider both the possible reroute shown in Figure 5-2A and the possibility of new trail development in the northwest portion of the park shown in Figure 5-1A, as well as the unchanged Art Roscoe loop recommendation (Figure 5-1) Please note that in addition to the new trail construction, we continue to urge that the master plan consider all trails north and east of ASP 2 to be open to bicycles, reflecting existing use. Please contact me during the day at 716-923-1207 or by e-mail at JAS@TrailMap.us to discuss these issues further. Sincerely yours, Jon Sundquist WNYMBA Trails Chair IMBA Upstate New York Representative WNYMBA PO Box 1691 Amherst, NY 14226 www.wnymba.org
Legend Dirt road Expressway Indistinct trail Minor trail Paved road Trail Proposed Cain Hollow Trail New Proposed Trail Unique Forest Complex 0 2,000 3,000 4,000 Feet :\ WNYMBA FIGURE 5-2
Legend Dirt road Expressway Indistinct trail Minor trail Paved road Trail New Proposed Trail Inholdings Park Boundary Proposed Northwest Trail System Old Growth :\ 0 2,000 3,000 4,000 Feet WNYMBA FIGURE 5-1A
Legend Dirt road Expressway Indistinct trail Minor trail Paved road Trail Proposed Art Roscoe Side Trail New Proposed Trail :\ Old Growth 0 2,000 3,000 4,000 Feet WNYMBA FIGURE 5-1