Update on Road Closures in Wharton State Forest

John Druding of Open Trails had a conference call with the Director of Parks and Forestry, Mr. Mark Texel, regarding the DEP’s plans for Wharton State Forest.  Mr. Texel shared that the DEP has identified several “Environmentally Sensitive Areas” or ESAs, in which motorized vehicles are not allowed. The ESAs are mostly bogs, but do include a very small number of roads, specifically, East Stokes Rd and Hampton Gate/High Crossing Rd.  All the ESAs have been posted and Mr. Texel has confirmed that there are no additional closures planned.  That being said, that doesn’t mean that there will never be another closure, however, Mr. Texel confirmed that any new closures will involve the stakeholders.
The primary purpose of the posting of ESAs is to facilitate enforcement by allowing charges to be able to be upheld in court, a previous serious impediment to enforcement.
Regarding the closure of Stokes and Hampton Gate/High Crossing, the DEP is aware that these are major roads with a long history, however, they are currently in disrepair.   As a result of their status as historical through ways,  they will be considered for repair in the 2016 maintenance budget.
Overall, the impact to motorized access is extremely small, only a fraction of what would have been lost with the original MAP plan. Open Trails supports the plan that the DEP has laid out as it is good compromise between access and protection of the forest’s resources.