To:  Everyone interested in saving our environment.

This letter was sent to Lloyd Mott, Chair of WCSQBO
Lloyd asked me to forward this letter from Rick and Anne Morse  so everyone is aware of Iowa Pacific’s plan to store old rail cars. This is a major concern for our North Country residents and  the effort to preserve this pristine environment.  Please feel free to respond with your concerns.
Thanks,
Joan, Secretary WCSQBO

 From: Rick and Anne Morse
Date: September 27, 2017
To: Gene Arsenault

Subject: Train Storage

To Warren County Board of Supervisors:

We are very concerned with the Iowa Pacific’s plan to move old rail cars into the Adirondack Park. They tried this scheme in the past, but were stopped when the public and the Board of Supervisors objected. The rail company has not lived up to the promises made in the contract. They are losing money and are not paying their bills. The only profitable use of the rail corridor north of North Creek this year has been for recreation, including the Revolution Rail Company rail bikes. The recreational use of the rail corridor is obviously the future.      

In the past, the tracks were used by cross country skiers and snowmobiles. It brought money into the community. When the county leased the rails to Iowa Pacific, all the other users were kicked off.  If the old train cars are stored north of North Creek, it will be more difficult to take up the tracks between Saratoga and North Creek, and the opportunity to put in a rail trail will be gone. Anyone who has been on the rail trail between Lake George and Glens Falls knows how popular it is and how it is used by both residents and tourists. We recently rode the P’tit Train du Nord, a 120 mile rail trail in the Laurentians of Canada. One night we stayed at a B & B in a small town about the size of Minerva. The owner opened the business three years ago because of the rail trail and told us that almost all his business comes from the P’tit Train. He’s fully booked. He said that approximately 400,000 people, both residents and tourists, use the rail trail each year. It’s used by bicyclists, walkers, snowmobilers and skiers. It’s an economic engine for that region. With a rail trail between Saratoga and North Creek, we could have a similar economic engine here. We will lose that potential if the old cars make their way here for storage. Instead of economic opportunity, we’ll have a junk yard.

The Warren County Board of Supervisors should do everything in its power, move heaven and earth, to keep this storage plan from happening. Time is of the essence. The county has to make a quick effort. The board has a lawyer. He has to find a way, and quickly, to stop the movement of the cars on the county-owned tracks.

Richard and Anne Morse