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Public gets say on plan to expand recreation at Minnewaska park - 20 October, 2009
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By Alexa James
Times Herald-Record
October 20, 2009 2:00 AM
NEW PALTZ — After more than 15 years, the state is retooling the way it manages the 21,000-acre Minnewaska State Park Preserve in Ulster County.
The park's new draft master plan tries to balance the competing interests of its more than 200,000 annual visitors against a wide array of conservation goals and a tight budget.
This monumental rewrite has Minnewaska's entire cast of characters competing for the spotlight. Hikers, scientists, skiers, birders — all are expected to speak out at this week's public hearing at SUNY New Paltz.
Rock-climber Rich Gottlieb will be there. He owns a sporting goods shop called Rock and Snow in New Paltz. Gottlieb and his peers are pushing for more access along Minnewaska's vertical cliff faces. The park's draft plan adds some new climbs. "However, there are hundreds and hundreds more within the park that are not allowed," he said. "We feel like the park has been pretty tight with its resources."
Minnewaska's acreage has nearly doubled since the adoption of its last master plan. State officials said the new blueprint accounts for the additional land, adding more biking, hiking and equestrian trails, and also parking, benches, kiosks and campgrounds.
"There are certainly more recreational opportunities than there were before," said Jim Hall, executive director of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, which oversees Minnewaska.
The new design does not include any massive, high-dollar initiatives. "We've tried to be more reflective of the reality that we all face in terms of financial resources," Hall saud.
Capital improvements total $5 million over 10 years, to be completed if and when the money's there. Most of the plan's "new" facilities are upgrades to existing structures.
Minnewaska also hopes to continue its existing partnerships with conservation groups. The plan supports the Shawangunk Ridge Biodiversity Partnership and its ridge-wide fire management program as well as the state Department of Conservation's deer management strategies.
if you go:
A public meeting on the proposed new master plan for Minnewaska State Park is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday in the SUNY New Paltz Lecture Center, Room 100. Public comments on the draft master plan will be accepted through Nov. 13. Read the Minnewaska draft master plan and find out how to submit a public comment at www.recordonline.com
PHOTO: The draft of the new master plan for the Minnewaska State Park Preserve takes into consideration recently acquired land. The park is nearly twice as large as it was when its last master plan was adopted.
Times Herald-Record/JEFF GOULDING
ajames@th-rcord.com
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