Some New York voters may be puzzled by a seemingly obscure question on their ballots this year about authorizing Nordic ski trails on protected land in the Adirondacks.
But what does this have to do with Dutchess County and mid-Hudson Valley residents and other voters who don’t live in the six-million-acre Adirondack Park?
The only statewide referendum in the Nov. 4 election is asking voters to amend the state constitution to carve out 1,039 acres of “forever wild” forest land for an existing sports destination near Lake Placid. About a third of that property — up to 323 acres — would be used for ski trails, biathlon courses and other facilities while the rest would stay untouched.
It turns out this is essentially a constitutional cleanup.
The complex at Mount Van Hoevenberg dates back to an initial bobsled run used in the 1932 Olympics, and it was upgraded in 1969 with a Nordic ski trail system used in the Lake Placid winter games in 1980.
But the state had neglected in all that time to amend its constitution to sanction the complex, much of which rests on land enshrined as “forever wild” in the constitution since 1895. Voters had passed other amendments over the years to carve out spots for development — but not the Olympic Sports Complex in the Essex County town of Mount Elba.
The proposed amendment on this year’s ballots would belatedly make that change. It also would require the state to add another 2,500 to its forest preserve to compensate for the 1,039 acres taken from it.
“Even though this Constitutional Amendment is being passed ‘after-the-fact,’ it remedies the past violations of Article 14, Section 1, and it lays out the parameters for future management of Mount Van Hoevenberg,” explains Protect the Adirondacks, a nonprofit group that is supporting the proposal.
New Yorkers will be asked to approve or reject the constitutional tweak when they take up mostly county-level and municipal races in this off-year election. The first ballots will be cast when nine days of early voting begin on Oct. 25.
What can NY voters expect when they pick up the ballot?
While the front of the ballot will look familiar with the titles of the positions and the rundown of candidate names, voters will have to flip over the ballot to see the Proposition. Proposal Number One, An Amendment, gives voters the choice of
What is the complex used for today?
Mount Van Hoevenberg has become a year-round spot for both sports competitions and open recreational use. It recently hosted three days of mountain bike races, and in December it will be the site of the 2025 Luge World Cup. Visitors can go there and get passes for cross-county biking or skiing, depending on the season, or pay for a 50 mph ride in a bobsled on wheels or runners.
The complex is run by the Olympic Regional Development Authority, created by New York in 1981 to manage the facilities that were used in the Lake Placid games a year earlier. Today, in addition to Mount Van Hoevenberg, ORDA operates three ski areas — Whiteface, Gore and Belleayre mountains — and the Olympic Jumping Complex in Lake Placid.
As a supplement to the amendment voters will take up, lawmakers have passed another bill that authorizes only certain activities and structures at Mount Van Hoevenberg, such as the Nordic ski trails and biathlon stadium. Other uses are prohibited, such as hotels, tennis courts and zip lines.
“The law provides certainty about what can and cannot occur at Mt Van Hoevenberg as a result of the amendment,” Darcy Rowe Norfolk, a spokeswoman for the authority, said by email.
How did this question get on the ballot?
The proposal first surfaced in Albany in 2021 and was approved by the state Senate and Assembly twice, in 2023 and June of this year, as required before any constitutional change may be put on the ballot. Every lawmaker except one Assembly dissenter supported the idea in both votes.
If voters reject the referendum, the matter would return to state lawmakers for further debate.
Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA Today Network. Reach him at cmckenna@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Why Dutchess County and other NY residents are asked to vote on Adirondack proposal
Reporting by Chris McKenna, New York State Team / Poughkeepsie Journal
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