Belleayre Coalition Cautiously Supports ORDA Plan

Posted on by NYSkiBlog

Belleayre logoThis past week, reports surfaced that the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) was exploring taking over the management of the Catskills’ troubled state-owned and -operated ski area, Belleayre. Thursday, in a press release, Coalition to Save Belleayre Chairman Joe Kelly cautiously endorsed this possibility. He called this moment “a turning point,” and went on to add that the DEC is “too busy and too distracted to properly operate a ski facility.”

In an interview on NYSkiBlog last year, Kelly’s frustration with DEC management of Belleayre was quite clear. While not directly suggesting that ORDA run Belleyare, he touched upon how a closer working relationship with the authority could benefit all three state-owned mountains.

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Tagged: Belleayre, Catskills, ORDA3 Comments

Editorial: Motors on Thirteenth Lake

Posted on by NYSkiBlog

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has proposed a ban on gasoline powered motorboats on Thirteenth Lake in northern Warren County, New York.

Gasoline Motor Ban on Thirteenth Lake.
Thirteenth Lake

The 2005 Siamese Ponds Unit Management Plan indicates that the DEC has received “numerous letters and phone calls” on the issue. The complaints address the noise, air and water pollution, and impact on nesting loons and paddlers caused by motorboats.

Under the new regulation, electric motors would still be allowed on the lake. This would allow fishermen to troll and the mobility impaired to continue to access the lake and the Siamese Ponds Wilderness.

We’ve spent a great deal of time on 13th Lake, and it’s beautiful. There are very few lakes in the Adirondacks, accessible by car, that are as unspoiled. The lake is fairly well sheltered from wind, and it’s hard to imagine a reasonable use of the lake that isn’t possible with a quiet, smoke-free electric motor.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Siamese Ponds Wilderness17 Comments