Syracuse.com - DEC schedules public meeting for Between Rivers Unit Management plan

[HuntingNY-News]

The Between Rivers UMP consists of 9,174 acres of forest land located in the eastern portion of Chenango County in the towns of Columbus, Guilford, New Berlin, North Norwich, Oxford and Sherburne. Hunters to mountain bikers would be affected by this plan.

The following is a DEC press release:

Public comments are being accepted on the draft Between Rivers Unit Management Plan (UMP) through DEC. 15, and a public meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Unadilla Valley High School auditorium, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced today.

The school is located at 4238 NYS Route 8, New Berlin, approximately four miles south of the village of New Berlin. The school and the auditorium are accessible sites.

“DEC recognizes the importance of the public participating in the UMP process and is asking for comments and ideas on the draft plan,” DEC Regional Director Ken Lynch said. “Community-based forestry is a participatory approach to forest management that seeks to strengthen the relationship between local residents and nearby forest resources.

The Draft Plan proposes to advance community-based forestry through public programs, increased participation in DEC’s Adopt-A-Natural Resource program and maintaining a dialogue with local governments about State Forest management.”

The Between Rivers UMP consists of 9,174 acres of forest land located in the eastern portion of Chenango County in the towns of Columbus, Guilford, New Berlin, North Norwich, Oxford and Sherburne. State forests included in the Unit are South Hill, Basswood, Wiley Brook, Skinner Hill, Ambler, Lyon Brook, Whaupaunaucau, Pine Ridge and Hunts Pond.

Various public use and recreational opportunities are proposed in the Draft Plan. A parking area and informational kiosks will be maintained at one location on each of the state forests in the Unit. Two new accessible trails are proposed to be developed, a 0.25 mile trail at Hunts Pond State Forest and a 0.33 mile trail at Wiley Brook State Forest. These trails will offer access to prime hunting areas on the state forests.

Other suggestions in the draft plan include: an additional 0 .5 miles of snowmobile trail on Wiley Brook State Forest; establishing a non-motorized recreational trial on South Hill State Forest, contingent on maintenance through the Adopt-A-Natural Resources program; the creation of a new lean-to for Wiley Brook State Forest; and the use of mountain bikes on the Whaupaunaucau State Forest trail system.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog