§ 15-2707 — Classes of river areas includable in system, criteria; management objectives

New York § 15-2707

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law ENV: Environmental Conservation
• Title 27: Wild, Scenic and Recreational Rivers System
• Art. 15: Water Resources

Text

§ 15-2707. Classes of river areas includable in system, criteria;\n management objectives.\n 1. The following types of river areas are eligible for inclusion in\nthe system. All state agencies are hereby directed to pursue policies\nwith respect to their respective activities, functions, powers and\nduties which are designated to enhance the conditions of designated\nrivers in accordance with the criteria set forth for such rivers in this\nsection.\n 2. All rivers in the system shall be relatively free of pollution and\nthe water quality thereof of a standard sufficiently high to meet the\nprimary management purposes enumerated herein.\n a. Wild river. Those rivers or sections of rivers that are free of\ndiversions and impoundments, inaccessible to the general public except\nby water, foot or horse trail, and with river areas primitive and\nundeveloped in nature and with development, if any, limited to forest\nmanagement and foot bridges.\n (1) The minimum length of any one section shall be five miles.\n (2) In general, the minimum distance from the river shore to a public\nhighway or a private road open to the public for motor vehicle use,\nshall be one-half mile except where a physical barrier exists which\neffectively screens the sight and sound of motor vehicles.\n (3) Management of wild river areas shall be directed at perpetuating\nthem in a wild condition as defined herein.\n b. Scenic river. Those rivers, or sections of rivers, that are free of\ndiversions or impoundments except for log dams, with limited road access\nand with river areas largely primitive and largely undeveloped or which\nare partially or predominantly used for agriculture, forest management\nand other dispersed human activities which do not substantially\ninterfere with public use and enjoyment of the rivers and their shores.\n (1) There shall be no minimum length of any one section.\n (2) Management of scenic river areas shall be directed at preserving\nand restoring the natural scenic qualities of such rivers.\n c. Recreational river. Those rivers, or sections of rivers, that are\nreadily accessible by road or railroad, that may have development in\ntheir river area and that may have undergone some impoundment or\ndiversion in the past.\n (1) There shall be no minimum length of any one section.\n (2) Management shall be directed at preserving and restoring the\nnatural scenic and recreational qualities of such river areas.\n d. Exceptions. Limited existing exceptions to the criteria for all\nthree classes of rivers will not automatically exclude rivers from\ndesignation. Rather, the river area shall be examined as a whole with\nits overall worthiness for inclusion being the deciding factor.\n