The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has begun the process of revising the Canandaigua Highlands Unit Management Plan (UMP). The first Canandaigua Highlands UMP was finalized in 2005, and is available on the web at: www.dec.ny.gov/lands/42852.html
The purpose of a unit management plan is two-fold: 1) to define management goals and objectives for state land and, 2) to prepare a ten-year plan of action to achieve those objectives.
Public involvement is an important component to the UMP process. We invite you to provide us with your comments or concerns regarding the past or future management of any of the DEC properties included in the UMP. Your comments may be general or specific, and will be accepted at any time throughout the process. Please email or mail them to the addresses located in the left column.
Properties in this UMP include: Italy Hill State Forest and High Tor Wildlife Management Area.
Once the draft plan is completed, the public will be invited to review it and attend a public meeting to share your views on the Draft UMP. Comments will be weighed against law, regulations, DEC Commissioner’s directives and other public comments before changes are made to the draft plan. Public questions and/or comments will be included in the final UMP.
It is DEC’s policy to manage state lands for multiple benefits to serve the people of New York State. Benefits such as good water quality, a diverse and healthy wildlife population, and recreational enjoyment are ensured by thoughtful land management, including selectively varying the types and growth stages of forested stands within this unit, maintaining and creating grasslands, and enhancing wetland areas. The plan will offer general information on the unit’s history and geology, an inventory of the unit’s resources, such as vegetative types and stages, fish, wildlife and habitat. It will also describe the proposed goals and objectives along with policy considerations for managing the unit.
Accomplishments from the 2005 UMP include: successful completion of timber management; improvements to the emergency helicopter landing pad; construction and maintenance of roads and parking lots; the protection, study and improvement of habitat for rare, threatened, or endangered species; expanding the size of High Tor WMA; and the creation and maintenance of additional grassland and vernal pools.
Comments, concerns or suggestions may be mailed to:
NYS DEC State Land Management
7291 Coon Rd
Bath, NY 14810
or emailed to: [email protected]
