Highmount, NY – The State of New York will hold a public information meeting at 7 p.m. tonight in Belleayre’s Overlook Lodge to detail its plans for 1,204 acres of land at the eastern end of the ski area on Big Indian Ridge that it acquired in 2011.
“The Big Indian acquisition preserves a major undeveloped geographic feature of the scenic Route 28 corridor in the heart of the Catskill Park,” New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joe Martens said in 2011. “The property is an important natural resource for future public recreation and in protecting the New York City watershed. The completion of this acquisition protects the Catskill Park while allowing economic growth in the area.”
The land was purchased from Crossroads Ventures LLC, the developer of the proposed Belleayre Resort at Catskill Park, for $5.6 million, paid for from the state’s Environmental Protection Fund. The land’s sale was a key component of a non-binding Agreement in Principle reached between the state, the City of New York, several environmental groups and Crossroads Ventures in September 2007.
The DEC is responsible for management of the constitutionally protected Forest Preserve in the Catskill Park. The Catskill Park State Land Master Plan, developed by DEC, applies a classification system that ranges from wilderness to wild forest to intensive use and provides guidelines for the management of those lands. Classification will determine the potential recreational opportunities that can be considered in the development of future management plans for the property while ensuring protection of natural resources, DEC officials indicate.
A draft of the Catskill Park State Land Master Plan Land Classification Amendment was first published by the state in June. Of the 1,204 acres, 263 acres west of Giggle Hollow Brook will be added to the ski area, 542 acres north of the eastern ridge of Belleayre Mountain and east of Giggle Hollow Brook will become part of the Shandaken Wild Forest, and 361 acres in the Lost Clove area will be dedicated to expand the Big Indian Wilderness Area.
The 263 acres earmarked to Belleayre Mountain Ski Center will be used to possibly someday extend lifts and trails down to the village of Pine Hill, a plan that would require an amendment to the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center Unit Management Plan. Elevations range from 1,260 to 2,820 feet.
Concurrently, the state will remove from the ski area and reclassify as wilderness 149 acres of steep, south-facing terrain that’s not conducive to ski area development.
Tonight’s meeting will focus solely on the state’s plan for the 1,200-acre acquisition, known collectively as the Big Indian Acquisition, and will not involve the current development plans for Belleayre Resort at Catskill Park. The meeting will provide an opportunity for the public to meet with DEC staff and share their thoughts, ideas and suggestions regarding management of the newly acquired state lands. Written comments on the plan will be accepted through Sept. 30.