HA-DE-RON-DAH Wilderness Area

State Land Master Plan February 2014 Description

This area is located in the Town of Webb, Herkimer County, and the Town of Greig, Lewis County.

It is bounded on the north by private lands in the vicinity of North Pond, Hitchcock Pond, Moose Pond and the headwaters of the Independence River; on the east by private lands along the Remsen to Lake Placid Railroad right of way; on the south by private lands along Route 28 and by the wood road leading to the Copper Lake property; and on the west by Pine Creek and a Department of Environmental Conservation maintained foot trail from Pine Creek to Pine Lake, East Pine Pond and Big Otter Lake. The present Wilderness boundary was established recognizing the well established motorized access in the adjacent Independence River Wild Forest.

The terrain consists of low rolling hills with many beaver meadows and wetlands.

Although the area is forest covered, extensive forest fire damage in the southern half has resulted in much of it now being covered with brush, pin cherry, aspen and bracken fern.

In the northern half, a mix of relatively small diameter hardwood and softwood stands predominate. The exceptions are the scattered individual white pine trees just north of the former truck trail which remained following the last logging operations prior to the State acquiring this area in the early l900's. Some of these trees exceed 100 feet in height and are more than 40 inches in diameter. The probable reason they escaped logging operations was that the final cut was for hardwoods. The scattered pines represented insufficient revenue in relation to the logging costs to fell and haul them.

Public access from the north and south is nearly all blocked by private lands. The same is true for most of the eastern and western boundaries except at the Big Otter Trail entrance near Thendara and the Big Otter Lake road in Independence River Wild Forest from the west.

The following non conforming uses have been removed from this area: 6.5 miles of a truck trail, 2.3 miles of snowmobile trails, one fire tower, one observer cabin and 1.8 miles of telephone line. This area now fully complies with Wilderness standards.

A Unit Management Plan was adopted for this area in 1995.

Mapping Resources:
(Not from the State Land Master Plan or Unit Management Plans)

Recreational Opportunities Map

View larger map with additional options

Soils and Wetlands