APA chairman draws fire

This spring, APA chairman Curt Stiles unlocked a gate to the seasonal Lake Lila road and drove with his party to a public camping area.

He told reporters that he found the key under a rock near the gate.

Critics of the Park Agency — particularly those unhappy with some of Stiles’ votes against motorized recreation in the Adirondacks– say the move reflects hypocrisy and elitism.

Here’s Steve Piatt, writing in the New York Outdoor News.

Consider: a guy who plays a lead role in deciding who goes where and how within remote areas of the Park, who has time and time again taken firm stances against motorized access, ‘finds’ a key to a gate, helps himself and then drives into an area which at the time – the gate is opened later in the year – was closed to motorized access.

This is a guy who should be taking the parking spot furthest away from any trailhead, who should be following park regulations to a T and, when in doubt, erring on the side of caution.

Stiles hasn’t been ticketed or fined. According to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, state officials determined that no laws had been broken.

Here’s Stiles’ own take, given to the Enterprise:

“I don’t know whose key it was, but it certainly fit the lock,” Stiles said. “I went in and registered like you should – didn’t trespass. Somebody may have said, ‘you probably shouldn’t have gone through the gate,’ but I certainly didn’t get a ticket or anything else.”

Tags: adirondacks