Forest, Forest Everywhere. But Not an Acre to Touch.
Here in the heart of the Adirondacks, the slender Schroon River, meandering through dense stands of hemlock and white pine, is so narrow that you could easily hurl a polished rock from one bank to the other. But ever since a century-old bridge nearby closed several years ago, crossing the river by car here can take up to 10 minutes more.
Local officials had the federal and state money in place to build a replacement bridge about two miles to the north. There was just one problem: The river is flanked by state forest preserve land. Using only 20 feet on each side would have required amending the State Constitution, with voters from Rochester to Ronkonkoma deciding the project’s fate.
In November, voters statewide will face a more expansive question — whether to amend the State Constitution to allow towns to use small pieces of land in the “forever-wild” preserves in the Adirondacks and Catskills for small, but critical public projects like straightening a dangerous curve in a road or drilling a drinking well. . .