Blue Hill State Forest in Cattaraugus County, the site of an old ski resort, is the first state forest added to the region since the 1960s — but not everyone approves of the new designation.

“Why did they do it this way? You know, why didn’t they involve us?" said Chris Lexer, highway superintendent, code enforcement officer, Town of Yorkshire.

What You Need To Know

  • The state Department of Environmental Conservation recently designated the newest state forest in Yorkshire

  • The DEC says the designation is designed to increase public access and recreational opportunities

  • Town leaders say the designation came as a surprise and haden't heard anything since 2020

Nestled along the enchanted mountains of Cattaraugus County in upstate New York lies 1,200 acres of the newly-created Blue Hill State Forest in Yorkshire, designated by the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to increase public access and recreational opportunities.

DEC leaders first approached the town about the initiative back in 2020 and was met with some opposition.

"Then COVID hit. We didn't hear anything more,” said Chris Lexer. “And then all of a sudden, out of the blue, we found out. And we read it in the newspaper last week that they had purchased the property.”

The DEC purchased the rundown former ski resort from the land owner for $2.1 million.

Town leaders, including Supervisor Marcia Lexer, say they remain concerned over whether the 1,200 acres, or one-fifth of the town's property, will generate any tax revenue from the state.

“We have no way to budget. We have no way to know,” said Chris Lexer. “We have a housing crisis in New York state right now. The governor's put initiatives on for local municipalities to promote growth and residential structures, you know, and they just took away 1,200 acres in the town of Yorkshire that can never be developed.”

The town is also concerned there are no signs designating the boundaries of the forest, which could be a problem for nearby homeowners with state land now all around their property.

"There’s no regulations on where you can access [and] where you can't access,” said Chris Lexer. “[It’s] very frustrating because residents are reaching out to the public officials asking what’s going on.”

Until the town gets the answers it wants, leaders say they’ll continue to move forward, knowing they cannot reverse what’s happened.

"To make sure our residents are protected [and] our residents are safe,” said Chris Lexer. “A lot was taken away from us. It’s pretty hard to swallow what's happened, I guess.”

Town leaders have reached out to their state representatives in Albany for further assistance, as this is part of the state’s '30 x 30' initiative, to conserve 30% of the state’s waters and lands by 2030.

The DEC says after the initial 90-day comment period had ended, it did notify the town in March 2020 that it was moving forward with the project. The agency goes on to say the state does pay taxes to towns and local school districts on reforestation properties. In addition, there are immediate plans in Cattaraugus County to post signs designating boundaries, remove the old ski resort buildings and conduct a full property assessment.

For more information, visit the DEC’s website.