One of the objectives of this study was to incorporate the APA Land Use and Development Plan map into the catalog of GIS data layers for the Oswegatchie/Black study area.

Introduction - Adirondack Land Use and Development Plan and Map

In 1973, the New York State legislature adopted the Adirondack Park Land Use and Development Plan and Map. The text of the Plan is found in the Adirondack Park Agency Act. Section 805 of the Act describes the different land use area classifications found on this map as follows:

HAMLET AREAS: delineated in brown, range from large, varied communities that contain sizable permanent, seasonal and transient populations with a great diversity of residential, commercial, tourist and industrial development and a high level of public services and facilities, to smaller, less varied communities with a lesser degree and diversity of development and a generally lower level of public services and facilities.

MODERATE INTENSITY USE AREAS: delineated in red, are those areas where the capability of the natural resources and the anticipated need for future development indicate that relatively intense development, primarily residential in character, is possible, desirable and suitable. These areas are primarily located near or adjacent to hamlets to provide for residential expansion. They are also located along highways or accessible shorelines where existing development has established the character of the area. Those areas identified as moderate intensity use where relatively intense development does not already exist are generally characterized by deep soils on moderate slopes and are readily accessible to existing hamlets.

LOW INTENSITY USE AREAS: delineated in orange, are those readily accessible areas, normally within reasonable proximity to a hamlet, where the physical and biological resources are fairly tolerant and can withstand development at an intensity somewhat lower than found in hamlets and moderate intensity use areas. While these areas often exhibit wide variability in the land's capability to support development, they are generally areas with fairly deep soils, moderate slopes and no large acreages of critical biological importance. Where these areas are adjacent to or near hamlets, clustering homes on the most developable portion of these areas makes possible a relatively high level of residential units and local services.

RURAL USE AREAS: delineated in yellow, are those areas where natural resource limitations and public considerations necessitate fairly stringent development constraints. These areas are characterized by substantial acreages of one or more of the following: fairly shallow soils, relatively severe slopes, significant ecotones, critical wildlife habitats, proximity to scenic vistas or key public lands. In addition, these areas are frequently remote from existing hamlet areas or are not readily accessible. Consequently, these areas are characterized by a low level of development and variety of rural uses that are generally compatible with the protection of the relatively intolerant natural resources and the preservation of open space. These areas and the resource management areas provide the essential open space atmosphere that characterizes the park.

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AREAS: delineated in green, are those lands where the need to protect, manage and enhance forest, agricultural, recreational and open space resources is of paramount importance because of overriding natural resource and public considerations. Open space uses, including forest management, agriculture and recreational activities, are found throughout these areas. Many resource management areas are characterized by substantial acreages of one or more of the following: shallow soils, severe slopes, elevation of over twenty-five hundred feet, flood plains, proximity to designated or proposed wild and scenic rivers, wetlands, critical wildlife habitats or habitats of rare and endangered plant and animal species. Other resource management areas include extensive tracts under active forest management that are vital to wood-using industry and necessary to insure its raw material needs. Important and viable agricultural areas are included in resource management areas, with many farms exhibiting a high level of capital investment for agricultural buildings and equipment. These agricultural areas are of considerable economic importance to segments of the park and provide for a type of open space which is compatible with the park's character.

INDUSTRIAL USE AREAS: delineated in purple on the plan map, include those areas that are substantial in size and located outside of hamlet areas and are areas (1) where existing land uses are predominantly of an industrial or mineral extraction nature or (2) identified by local and state officials as having potential for new industrial development.

Introduction - State Land Master Plan

The Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserves were created by the New York State Legislature on May 15, 1885. The law stated: "The lands now or hereafter constituting the Forest Preserve shall be forever kept as wild forest lands. They shall not be sold, nor shall they be leased or taken by any person or corporation, public or private".

The people, as represented by the Constitutional Convention in 1894 made protection of the Preserve part of the fundamental character of their governance. They included the Forever Wild clause in the Constitution, adding that "nor shall the timber thereon be sold, removed or destroyed."  The first two sentences of the "forever wild" clause of the New York State Constitution are the strongest preservation law in the Nation. Not one word has been changed since adoption on January 1, 1895.

A century of constitutional protection for the Forest Preserve has resulted in a natural ecosystem of remarkable stability. Because trees may not be cut on the Forest Preserve, the seedlings of 1885 are now towering mature trees, members of an evolving community well on its way to becoming a primeval forest again. The State has acquired and made open to all, the richest diversity of land of any park in the United States, with high peaks, deep forests, long waterways, rare bogs, and quiet ponds.

In 1952 the Conservation Department (now the Department of Environmental Conservation) asked the Joint Legislative Committee on Natural Resources to study the Forest Preserve and its management. In 1960 this Committee proposed that the Conservation Department limit the use of motor vehicles and designate Wilderness areas in the Forest Preserve. It also articulated management principles which are the cornerstone of Preserve management today. They included:

• The Forest Preserve is only one component of the State's outdoor recreation system and the "Forever Wild" concept allows the Preserve to make a unique contribution to that system.

• Preservation of the Forest Preserve's natural condition should be a fundamental policy.

• Motor vehicle use should be regulated to protect the wild forest character of the Preserve.

In 1970, the Temporary Study Commission on the Future of the Adirondacks building on the work of the Joint Legislative Committee on Natural Resources proposed a management plan for the Adirondack Forest Preserve. It also called for the creation of the Adirondack Park Agency. Upon its creation in 1971 the Adirondack Park Agency's first task was to develop in consultation with the Department of Environmental Conservation a management plan for the management of all State land in the Adirondack Park. The resulting plan, the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan (Master Plan), is a refinement of the previous studies and by law still governs the management of State land.

The Master Plan classifies State land within the Adirondack Park according to its characteristics and its ability to withstand use into seven basic categories: Wilderness, Primitive, Canoe, Wild Forest, Intensive Use, Historic and State Administrative. Please refer to the Master Plan for detailed descriptions of these categories. For the purposes of this study, all of these classifications are considered as one: State Land.

Description of Existing Data

The Adirondack Park Land Use and Development Plan map was adopted by the New York Legislature with the Plan in 1973 based on acetate originals prepared at a scale of 1:62500. In 1980, these maps were transferred to 1:24000 scale planimetric base maps with various quality control reviews by staff responsible for parcel by parcel determinations of land classification. These maps were digitized using ERDAS software into a 1 acre raster map of the State and private land classifications. This computerized map, and a vector derivative were the existing digital data depicting the Official State and private land classification maps. These data were not at a scale or format that could be characterized as an accurate facsimile of the Official map at scales larger than 1:100000.

Method

The Agency prepared a library of 1:24000 ARC/INFO coverages that include all planimetric maps wholly or partially within the Blue Line of the Adirondack Park. This library was populated with hydrographic features including lakes and streams from scanned and vectorized Department of Environmental Conservation stream classification maps, with road features obtained from the Office of Real Property Services and prepared by the Department of Transportation (DOT) in the early 1980's, and with municipal boundaries manually digitized by Agency staff from DOT 1:24000 planimetric quadrangle maps. This information was corrected using standard quality control and editing procedures to serve as a base for the Official maps. Many classification boundaries are natural or cultural features such as roads, streams or minor civil division boundaries. Oswegatchie/Black quality control for hydrography came from current USGS base maps and field observations, and for roads, updated data was obtained from current county road maps.

A combined coverage was prepared for each quadrangle and the additional vectors necessary to complete the official map were manually digitized from the existing planimetric base. Classifications were assigned to the resulting polygons using the smaller scale raster map, and each quadrangle was then corrected using a variety of techniques for mis-identified polygons or missing vectors.

Each quadrangle has a detailed history of all digitizing and quality control performed on or for it, kept in a master log for the Park-wide set of coverages. This metadata consists of a paper notebook with several pages for each quad, including check plots and chronological notations of digitizing and edit operations. There is no current plan to convert it to a computerized database.

Quality control and update of this library of coverages is ongoing as administrative determinations are made regarding map classification, technical corrections to the Official maps, and formal rezonings or map amendments are approved by the Agency. This history is kept in the log.

The Adirondack Park Land Use and Development Plan Map is provided in digital form as part of the digital data set for the Oswegatchie/Black project (see graphic in report attachment).

References

• New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Adirondack Park Agency 1989. State of New York Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan, second revision approved November 1987. Ray Brook, NY. 78 pp.

One of the objectives of this study was to examine existing and potential land uses in this study area.

Description of existing data

Source Data: 1989 Assessment Roll Levy Module files, 200 class parcels.

This map shows a buffer around residential parcel centroids. A residential parcel is one occupied with a seasonal or permanent single family dwelling (including mobile homes). These buffers indicate where two or more such dwellings are within 1/10 mile of each other. Technically, this process identifies lot center points for which a five-acre circle intersects a neighboring residential lot five-acre circle and then maps the intersecting circle areas. It does not depict commercial properties or areas where many residential structures occupy one tax lot, such as shoreline associations.

Based on staff experience, these estimates of residential areas reasonably approximate existing uses. However, there has been no quantitative verification of this.

Method

These data were derived from assessment roll levy module files according to standards set by the New York State Board/Department of Equalization and Assessment as a database maintained by each county in New York State.

This data layer was not modified.

References

• New York State Board of Equalization and Assessment. 1990. Property type classification and ownership codes. Albany, NY.

We provide a summary table of data types and sources for the Oswegatchie/Black study area found in this report (Table II.R.1).

APA = Adirondack Park Agency

ALSC = Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation

McMartin = Barbara McMartin

NADAP = National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network

NOAA = National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration

NYS G.S. = New York State Geological Survey

OB I = Oswegatchie/Black project Phase I

OB II = Oswegatchie/Black project Phase II

SCS = USDA Soil Conservation Service (Natural Resources Conservation Service)

SUNY = State University of New York at Plattsburgh, Remote Sensing Lab

USGS = U.S. Geological Survey

UNH = University of New Hampshire