cubdriver2
FRIEND
upstate NY
Lows Lake
Just when you think your done a new angle is tried, never give up. This was posted today in the Poststar paper in Glensfalls NY. www.poststar.com
The federal lawsuit that seeks to reopen nearly 40 Adirondack lakes and ponds to floatplanes will continue, after the U.S. District Court for the Northern
District ruled Thursday against a state motion for its dismissal.The lawsuit alleges the state, by continuing to ban floatplanes from lakes and ponds in
the Adirondack Forest Preserve, violates the Americans With Disabilities Act and wrongly attempts to supersede the federal regulatory authority of
aviation; a violation of the U.S. Constitution.State Assistant Attorney General Susan Lee Taylor argued the lawsuit, filed last year by Former
Warrensburg Town Supervisor Maynard Baker and five other elderly residents, never proved the plaintiffs have standing to sue and didn't contain
specifics about which water bodies the plaintiffs actually wanted to open.Taylor argued these deficiencies warrant a complete dismissal.But U.S. District
judge for the Northern District Gary Sharpe didn't agree."Contrary to defendants' assertion, the deficiencies in the complaint and proposed amended
complaint are minimal," Sharpe's decision reads. His decision grants Baker's attorney, Matthew Norfolk, 30 days to file an amended petition that
addresses the deficiencies.Norfolk said the amended petition will include a list of specific lakes and ponds that were once floatplane accessible but have
since been closed by state regulations specific to the Adirondack Park.Floatplane access in the Adirondacks has been a contentious issue for decades.
It was again thrust to the forefront of regional debate in 2009, after the Adirondack Park Agency moved to ban floatplanes from Lows Lake, a popular
back-country fishing destination in St. Lawrence County.Baker and his co-plaintiffs filed the lawsuit at the height of the Lows Lake debate.Operators of
the two remaining float plane charter companies in the Adirondacks have said Lows Lake accounts for at least a third of their business.The APA Board
of Commissioners, under mounting public pressure, reversed its earlier stance in 2010 and moved to allow access to Lows Lake. But the APA's change
of heart was overridden in court in August when it lost a court challenge brought by several regional environmental groups.Environmental groups
contend the presence of floatplanes is contrary to stipulations in management guidelines of the state Forest Preserve.Sharpe's decision questions the
legal viability of Norfolk's claim that the state is somehow usurping federal aviation authority by enforcing the Adirondack State Land Master
Plan.Copyright 2011 The Post-Star. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Read more: http://poststar.com/news/local/judge...#ixzz1fzLqYcW1
GlennDistrict ruled Thursday against a state motion for its dismissal.The lawsuit alleges the state, by continuing to ban floatplanes from lakes and ponds in
the Adirondack Forest Preserve, violates the Americans With Disabilities Act and wrongly attempts to supersede the federal regulatory authority of
aviation; a violation of the U.S. Constitution.State Assistant Attorney General Susan Lee Taylor argued the lawsuit, filed last year by Former
Warrensburg Town Supervisor Maynard Baker and five other elderly residents, never proved the plaintiffs have standing to sue and didn't contain
specifics about which water bodies the plaintiffs actually wanted to open.Taylor argued these deficiencies warrant a complete dismissal.But U.S. District
judge for the Northern District Gary Sharpe didn't agree."Contrary to defendants' assertion, the deficiencies in the complaint and proposed amended
complaint are minimal," Sharpe's decision reads. His decision grants Baker's attorney, Matthew Norfolk, 30 days to file an amended petition that
addresses the deficiencies.Norfolk said the amended petition will include a list of specific lakes and ponds that were once floatplane accessible but have
since been closed by state regulations specific to the Adirondack Park.Floatplane access in the Adirondacks has been a contentious issue for decades.
It was again thrust to the forefront of regional debate in 2009, after the Adirondack Park Agency moved to ban floatplanes from Lows Lake, a popular
back-country fishing destination in St. Lawrence County.Baker and his co-plaintiffs filed the lawsuit at the height of the Lows Lake debate.Operators of
the two remaining float plane charter companies in the Adirondacks have said Lows Lake accounts for at least a third of their business.The APA Board
of Commissioners, under mounting public pressure, reversed its earlier stance in 2010 and moved to allow access to Lows Lake. But the APA's change
of heart was overridden in court in August when it lost a court challenge brought by several regional environmental groups.Environmental groups
contend the presence of floatplanes is contrary to stipulations in management guidelines of the state Forest Preserve.Sharpe's decision questions the
legal viability of Norfolk's claim that the state is somehow usurping federal aviation authority by enforcing the Adirondack State Land Master
Plan.Copyright 2011 The Post-Star. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.