Waumbek
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From today's NYT:
[start quote]
November 20, 2005
Can't See the Forest for the Hikers? Big Groups Face Limits
By MICHELLE YORK
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - Over the Columbus Day weekend last month, a 16-member group of Boy Scouts and chaperons from Rochester began an overnight hiking trip in the Adirondack High Peaks wilderness area. But for their efforts, the group earned something less illustrious than a merit badge.
Forest rangers evicted them from the park for violating rules that restrict the size of hiking groups after spotting their tents clustered together and the group hiking en masse. Then, state environmental officers gave tickets to the two Scout leaders, who had been warned of the rules beforehand. Only 15 people are allowed to hike together for day trips, and overnight camping groups like the Scouts are limited to eight.
"I feel bad for the kids when that happens," said Peter L. Price, an assistant forest ranger, adding, "I must have spoken to them four times, warning them to split up."
Concerned that large groups were destroying the woods - and the peace - New York State's Department of Environmental Conservation began enforcing stricter limits on group sizes in the wilderness area. As a result, though a few try to flout the law, many have stopped coming.
Since the rules took effect, the number of hikers has dropped steadily, reversing the surge in the 1980's and 90's. Last year, roughly 94,000 hikers visited the High Peaks - down from the highs in the late 1990's when nearly 140,000 hikers visited, according to department statistics.
The state is now reviewing its master plan to see if the drop has been enough to protect the area, or if further restrictions are needed, said a spokesman, David Winchell. The review might take several months.
Some environmental groups, like the Adirondack Council, would like to see even fewer people visit the High Peaks. "I think 85,000 people a year is a good starting point," the executive director, Brian Houseal, said.
Big groups widen the trails. They tend to leave behind more garbage, creating a potential for encounters with bears, and they trample flora on the mountaintops. They also have a harder time keeping track of their members, state officials said.
But restricting them is a problematic policy in a region that depends on tourism. When the rules were enacted, many organizations that used tour buses stopped coming, and other groups, like the Boy Scouts, found it difficult to provide more adults to supervise smaller groups.
"It's a double-edged sword," said Carl Gronlund, the director of operations for Mirror Lake Inn in Lake Placid. Though his business has not been affected so far, he fears further restrictions.
According to a survey in April released by the Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors Bureau, hiking is the main draw for 37 percent of visitors - more than the Olympic sites that provide a showcase for Lake Placid's sporting history. Each visitor is estimated to spend about $243 a day. Some business owners fear continued decreases in annual hiking could cause a significant loss of revenue.
"Without tourism, there wouldn't be much here," Mr. Gronlund said.
In spite of that, most retailers say they are happier, so far, that the High Peaks seem to be on fewer people's itineraries. "There's definitely a decrease in bus groups, but it was getting bad," said Vinny McClelland, the manager of the Mountaineer, a hiker's supply store in Keene Valley. "A bus would pull up and 60 people would get off, with the bus staying there, idling all day." He added that half the people would go into the woods to urinate.
An assistant manager of Eastern Mountain Sports in Lake Placid, Bill Schneider, said he has heard complaints from business owners unhappy about the decrease and from large groups that arrive unaware.
"But I moved here to be in the country, and I enjoy it," he said. "It doesn't hurt my feelings that huge groups aren't tramping through the woods."
Ludger Lebel, the manager of DéTour Nature, a tour business in Montreal that used to visit the High Peaks, scoffed at the suggestion that large groups were disproportionately destructive. "We're well organized and well disciplined," he said.
Because of the regulations, he has scheduled more tours in Vermont and New Hampshire instead of the Adirondacks. "Especially on long weekends, we don't go anymore," he said. "But if I don't go with my bus, people are taking their cars. I don't know which is better for the environment, one bus or 25 cars."
Josh Baker, a director of the outdoor education program at Colgate University, said he has rearranged the college's excursions, taking more frequent bus trips with smaller groups of students, which has increased expenses. "What it's doing now is squeezing us," he said. "We are going to other places as well, but we can't stop going to the High Peaks because it's beautiful."
Rangers often stop groups at the trailheads and break them into smaller parties, hiking at least a mile apart. "Most are understanding and willing to accommodate, and some get irritated and frustrated," Mr. Price said. "We tell them they are definitely more destructive whether they intend to be or not."
The Boy Scout group from Rochester, which received 2 of the 10 tickets issued so far this year, took it in stride and was apologetic, Mr. Price said, adding that once they understood the reason behind the rules, they "actually thanked us." [end quote]
[start quote]
November 20, 2005
Can't See the Forest for the Hikers? Big Groups Face Limits
By MICHELLE YORK
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - Over the Columbus Day weekend last month, a 16-member group of Boy Scouts and chaperons from Rochester began an overnight hiking trip in the Adirondack High Peaks wilderness area. But for their efforts, the group earned something less illustrious than a merit badge.
Forest rangers evicted them from the park for violating rules that restrict the size of hiking groups after spotting their tents clustered together and the group hiking en masse. Then, state environmental officers gave tickets to the two Scout leaders, who had been warned of the rules beforehand. Only 15 people are allowed to hike together for day trips, and overnight camping groups like the Scouts are limited to eight.
"I feel bad for the kids when that happens," said Peter L. Price, an assistant forest ranger, adding, "I must have spoken to them four times, warning them to split up."
Concerned that large groups were destroying the woods - and the peace - New York State's Department of Environmental Conservation began enforcing stricter limits on group sizes in the wilderness area. As a result, though a few try to flout the law, many have stopped coming.
Since the rules took effect, the number of hikers has dropped steadily, reversing the surge in the 1980's and 90's. Last year, roughly 94,000 hikers visited the High Peaks - down from the highs in the late 1990's when nearly 140,000 hikers visited, according to department statistics.
The state is now reviewing its master plan to see if the drop has been enough to protect the area, or if further restrictions are needed, said a spokesman, David Winchell. The review might take several months.
Some environmental groups, like the Adirondack Council, would like to see even fewer people visit the High Peaks. "I think 85,000 people a year is a good starting point," the executive director, Brian Houseal, said.
Big groups widen the trails. They tend to leave behind more garbage, creating a potential for encounters with bears, and they trample flora on the mountaintops. They also have a harder time keeping track of their members, state officials said.
But restricting them is a problematic policy in a region that depends on tourism. When the rules were enacted, many organizations that used tour buses stopped coming, and other groups, like the Boy Scouts, found it difficult to provide more adults to supervise smaller groups.
"It's a double-edged sword," said Carl Gronlund, the director of operations for Mirror Lake Inn in Lake Placid. Though his business has not been affected so far, he fears further restrictions.
According to a survey in April released by the Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors Bureau, hiking is the main draw for 37 percent of visitors - more than the Olympic sites that provide a showcase for Lake Placid's sporting history. Each visitor is estimated to spend about $243 a day. Some business owners fear continued decreases in annual hiking could cause a significant loss of revenue.
"Without tourism, there wouldn't be much here," Mr. Gronlund said.
In spite of that, most retailers say they are happier, so far, that the High Peaks seem to be on fewer people's itineraries. "There's definitely a decrease in bus groups, but it was getting bad," said Vinny McClelland, the manager of the Mountaineer, a hiker's supply store in Keene Valley. "A bus would pull up and 60 people would get off, with the bus staying there, idling all day." He added that half the people would go into the woods to urinate.
An assistant manager of Eastern Mountain Sports in Lake Placid, Bill Schneider, said he has heard complaints from business owners unhappy about the decrease and from large groups that arrive unaware.
"But I moved here to be in the country, and I enjoy it," he said. "It doesn't hurt my feelings that huge groups aren't tramping through the woods."
Ludger Lebel, the manager of DéTour Nature, a tour business in Montreal that used to visit the High Peaks, scoffed at the suggestion that large groups were disproportionately destructive. "We're well organized and well disciplined," he said.
Because of the regulations, he has scheduled more tours in Vermont and New Hampshire instead of the Adirondacks. "Especially on long weekends, we don't go anymore," he said. "But if I don't go with my bus, people are taking their cars. I don't know which is better for the environment, one bus or 25 cars."
Josh Baker, a director of the outdoor education program at Colgate University, said he has rearranged the college's excursions, taking more frequent bus trips with smaller groups of students, which has increased expenses. "What it's doing now is squeezing us," he said. "We are going to other places as well, but we can't stop going to the High Peaks because it's beautiful."
Rangers often stop groups at the trailheads and break them into smaller parties, hiking at least a mile apart. "Most are understanding and willing to accommodate, and some get irritated and frustrated," Mr. Price said. "We tell them they are definitely more destructive whether they intend to be or not."
The Boy Scout group from Rochester, which received 2 of the 10 tickets issued so far this year, took it in stride and was apologetic, Mr. Price said, adding that once they understood the reason behind the rules, they "actually thanked us." [end quote]
