The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has provided an opportunity for comment regarding the application by the Upper Saranac Marina to expand their marina on Lower Fish Creek Pond. The newest proprietors of the former Hickok’s Boat Livery, now Upper Saranac Marina, proposes an expansion to 92 boat slips and docks up to 200 feet out into the pond. The marina is located on the 79-acre Lower Fish Creek Pond, and is connected to Upper Saranac Lake by way of a narrow .85-mile channel. The application also includes relocating their existing three no-wake buoys to within 50 feet of the new docks.
Comments on this project must be in writing, received no later than June 20, 2024, and submitted to:
Erin Donhauser
NYSDEC Region 5 Headquarters
1115 St Rte 86
Ray Brook, New York 12977
Click here to view the Marina application.
The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) Board of Directors approved the expansion of the marina at its May meeting despite an outcry of objections from nearby property owners and longtime visitors of Fish Creek Campground. The Marina is now looking for approval from NYSDEC. The marina received approval from the Town of Santa Clara, although the town will need to review the application again due to modifications to the site plans since its original approval.
Environmental activist organizations including the Upper Saranac Foundation, Adirondack Council, the Adirondack Mountain Club, Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve, Protect the Adirondacks, and the Sierra Club have all expressed concerns that an expanded marina could impact existing aquatic uses, aquatic resources, aesthetic resources, water quality, and public safety. In addition, we have advocated that state agencies should not approve the marina project in the absence of a carrying capacity study as required by the State Land Master Plan and the Saranac Lakes Wild Forest Unit Management Plan.
Click here to view the Upper Saranac Foundations’ comment to the NYSDEC.
Click here to view the environmental organization’s comment to the NYSDEC.
Other opponents of the marina argued that Hickok’s Livery never had 71-slips, accounting for the proposed 29% increase to 92 slips. Advisories state that the expansion needs to account for the type of intended boat use (22-foot motor boats) compared to the previous use, primarily rowboats and canoes.
For more information: https://dec.ny.gov/news/environmental-notice-bulletin/2024-06-05/completed-application/town-of-santa-clara-usl-marina