It's beautiful, it's unique, it's recognized as one of the 75 great places in the Western Hemisphere, and it lies just seventy miles or so from New York City. Naturally, everyone wants a piece of it, except for those who don't want anyone to have any of it.

It's Minnewaska State Park Preserve and its future is bound up inextricably with the future of the communities on its borders.

Ellenville in particular could find a lifeline, or even the key to a new future, due to the town's location right by the only gateways into the park that offer an alternative to the massively overused and overwhelmed main park entrance on Route 44-55.

Right now the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (Commissioner Carol Ash) is drawing up a new Master Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for the park. To that end, after a meeting was held in New Paltz, another one came to Ellenville, held at the High School Auditorium last Thursday.

As Tom Lyons, who came down from the Albany Office of the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, noted, these meetings were specifically held to gather the views and comments of people who are interested in the park.

Eric Humphrey, the park manager, spoke briefly of the modern history of the Shawangunk Ridge, discussing how the Smiley family began their efforts at colonizing the high lands, sky lakes and beautiful vistas, in the late nineteenth century.

Most recently, the park has expanded with the acquisitions of the 2,505 acre Awosting Reserve on the southern side, the 3,837 acres of what was formerly the Ellenville Tract, the 1,700 acres of the Shevchenko parcel, and other, smaller parcels all around the park. There are now 20,000 acres in the complex of park and preserves, running from Sam's Point and the South Gulley to Route 44-55 where the Mohonk Preserve takes over the task of caring for the unique and wonderful "sky lands" of the Shawangunks. Within this area, there are now 35 miles of carriageways and another 30 miles of footpaths. The highest point in the park is 2,289 feet, and the lowest is now 300 feet. To take care of all of this, there are 20 full time staff members who are bolstered by up to 50 or more part time staff, particularly in the summer months.

After Humphrey had laid the ground, the meeting was thrown open to the public, and the comments and long-prepared arguments quickly mounted up.

Broadly speaking, the arguments could be divided between "preservationists" and "access seekers."

Paula Medley of Cragsmoor spoke for the preservationist side and made the very salient point that something as precious as the Shawangunk Ridge is in danger from being "loved to death." The ecosystem up there where the pine trees grow six feet high is vulnerable to invasive species and all the other costs that unrestrained human use can bring. More than that, there is a stark difference between a place left wild, left "pristine," and a place that is opened up to hikers, bikers, hunters, and all the rest.

Most important is that the precious "wildness" of the Shawangunk Ridge's highest parts stands in direct opposition to the nearness of New York City, from which emerge thousands of people every summer weekend, seeking wide open spaces, uncrowded trails to ride and hike, places to swim and picnic. Minnewaska, which is open every day of the year, currently receives 250,000 visitors per year, the great majority of them during the summer months. This number is likely to grow as well.

For the other side of the argument, there were spokesmen from hunting groups, hiking groups, biking groups, the Gunk climbers, skiers, snowmobilers, and at least one horse person. Each of these groups sought more access and better access to the park.

Another aspect of the current situation, however, was illuminated first by Beth Freer of Gardiner, who spoke about the dangerous traffic-crowding on 44-55 on just about any nice day in the summer, and particularly on weekends. Cars line up to try and gain entrance to the park in the mornings. Between the long lines of cars, plus potentially dangerous maneuverings by late-comers, and the essential, everyday traffic going back and forth on that road, a situation is building up that seems likely to produce accidents.

Then there was John Adams, who brought up a tangential issue of considerable interest to Ellenville residents, namely the extension of the Ellenville D&H Canal trail, which could eventually have a connection to the Minnewaska Park Preserve, now that the Park Preserve has acquired the Shevchenko tract and so physically connects to Berme Road and the Rondout Creek. In fact, Adams liked to point out the town of Wawarsing has approval on $600,000 in funding to design the trail between Kerhonkson and the prison complex in Napanoch which would pass through the new preserve land.

"I would like to see the state build a park along the creek, by the rail trail, that could handle some of the overflow from the main park," said Adams. "In fact the planned re-route of the Long Path will bring about a junction between that trail and the Ellenville D&H trail. People who wanted a strenuous hike could go on up the mountain, and everyone else could have a more leisurely hike on level ground along the waterside.

"That little stretch that is now part of the park, beside the Rondout, has a beautiful stand of wild rhododendrons, mountain laurel, too, and it's one part of the valley that looks very much like parts of the mountain."

Representatives from the Ulster/Wawarsing hunting associations also appeared, demanding more and better access for hunters, not only of deer, but also of small game. Hunters are natural conservationists, who spend a lot of time outdoors in seasons when most of us would rather not. They reported that the deer herd on the mountain is pressing against the edge of what the land can support and hunting is a necessary alternative, since the predators, such as wolves and mountain lions are no longer present.

Another trenchant point of view was argued by Anne O'Dell, who is both a horse person and a member of the snowmobile rescue group who had their rescue snowmobile and "Rescueboggan" on display in the car park.

"I realize that I get to see more of the park than almost anyone else, because I'm out there riding a horse, so I can go farther," she said. O'Dell noted that the overcrowding at the Route 44-55 main gate was so bad now that another access point to the park would be invaluable.

"Right there in Ellenville is the entrance to the Smiley Road. That's not in great shape right now, but it could be upgraded, and were it to become a useable way to get into the park, then Ellenville would benefit."

The Master Plan is still in the formative stages. Written comments should be mailed or e-mailed by Aug. 11 to Mark Hohengasser, New York state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Development, Empire State Plaza Agency Building A, Albany 12238, or e-mailed to mark.hohengasser@oprhp.state.ny.us.

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