ARCC Joins Rally for Adirondack Winter Economy

More than 50 people gathered at the Long View Lodge in Long Lake — including local government leaders, economic development officials and snowmobilers — called on state officials Saturday to recognize the need for protecting the Adirondacks’ winter economic engine.

“Here today, on the ground in the Adirondacks, snowmobiling is the winter economy,” said Bill Farber, president of the Adirondack Association of Towns and Villages.

Speakers at the afternoon conference represented the Adirondack Park Local Government Review Board, the Adirondack Regional Chambers of Commerce, Sen. Betty Little’s office, the New York State Snowmobile Association and others.

The meeting, held at the Long View Lodge in the heart of the Adirondacks, was in response to a recent Adirondack Park Agency decision to place an arbitrary cap on the amount of snowmobile trails in the Adirondack Park.

The threat represented by the APA’s decision — which would impact existing trails on privately owned land that is purchased by the state in the future — imperils the already tenuous winter economy throughout the Adirondacks.

Todd Shimkus, president & CEO of the Adirondack Regional Chambers of Commerce, spoke of the broad economic benefits of snowmobiling and pointed to an industry estimate that snowmobilers spend $3,000 per season on tourism-related businesses, including food, lodging and other needs.

Referencing a comment by the state’s Albany-area economic development official at the last APA meeting who suggested snowshoers might replace snowmobilers as a viable economic force, Shimkus noted: “We have over 200 brochures in our racks — I couldn’t find one on snowshoeing,” though there was a comprehensive brochure showing existing snowmobile trails.

Long Lake Supervisor Gregg Wallace told the crowd, “We’ve got to do everything we can to ensure snowmobiling continues in the Adirondacks. This is an issue of survivability, not just sustainability.”

Fred Monroe, executive director of the Adirondack Park Local Government Review Board called for more balance between environmental and economic protection in the Adirondacks.

“There needs to be a study of economic impact on snowmobiling in the Adirondacks,” Monroe said.