Jessup River Wild Forest

The Jessup River Wild Forest (JRWF) area consists of 47,350 acres of State Forest Preserve lands in the towns of Arietta, Indian Lake, Lake Pleasant, and Wells in Hamilton County. The unit is bounded by Route 28 to the north and Route 30 in the southeast, as well as three wilderness areas: West Canada Lakes Wilderness to the west; Siamese Ponds Wilderness to the east, and Silver Lake Wilderness to the south. The state lands in this unit border, or are in close proximity to, the communities of Indian Lake, Piseco, Speculator and Wells. Route 30 bisects the unit and serves as the main access corridor. Many people enjoy hiking to the fire towers on Pillsbury and Snowy mountains, snowmobiling between Piseco Lake and Indian Lake, canoeing on Fall Stream, or camping on Mason Lake. Hunting, fishing, and trapping are also popular activities throughout the unit but particularly in and around Perkins Clearing, the Jessup River and the Miami River.

http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/22599.html

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Old Route 8B Bridge Inspection and Rehabilitation

I am quite intrigued by what is happening with the Old Route 8B South Bridge in Wells. Seems like a lot of infrastructure for just an inspection, when they could bring in cherry picker or depending on seasonal water levels, an inspector in waders.

I wonder if Hamilton County plans to re-open it to automobiles? It is an important part of state snowmobile trail system, but the bridge has been closed to cars since the 1990s. It's possible they got interested in restoring it after the Robbs Creek Bridge emergency closure, which not only threatened the snowmobile trail but hunting cabins and properties off Robbs Creek Road.

I can't find anything about the work on the Hamilton County website.

Sunday April 27, 2025 β€” Perkins Clearing and Speculator Tree Farm Conservation Easement Lands