Visitor Use Management Framework
How Visitor Use Management Framework works within the High Peaks Wilderness
In April 2026, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) released two reports, prepared by planning firms DJ&A and Otak, regarding Visitor Use Management (VUM) for the Adirondack High Peaks Wilderness and Kaaterskill Clove region of the Catskill Park. We here at Adirondack Wilderness Advocates understand there may be similarities between the Catskill Park and High Peaks Wilderness, but we are only commenting on the High Peaks Wilderness.
What is Visitor Use Management?
Visitor Use Management (or VUM) is actually a framework that is intended to guide decision making. A better title than VUM is then VUMF, Visitor Use Management Framework. The purpose of the framework is to provide cohesive guidance on the major elements for analyzing and managing visitor use. It is a proactive and an adaptive process that incorporates a variety of strategies and tools to achieve and maintain desired resource conditions and visitor experiences.
Next steps
DEC accepted public comments on both reports until June 1, 2026. Adirondack Wilderness Advocates submitted a comment in response to the report released for the High Peaks Wilderness. We acknowledge the considerable effort DEC and its consultants invested in this project and recognize that managing a high-visitation Wilderness in a state Forest Preserve context presents genuine and complex challenges. We support DEC’s commitment to a structured, adaptive management framework for the High Peaks Project Area. Nevertheless, we have significant concerns about what this planning process portends for public access to constitutionally protected lands.
Adirondack Wilderness Advocates is committed to working with all stakeholders to find solutions to issues within state-managed Forest Preserve Wilderness lands. We have been working on studying Adaptive Management for a number of years and look forward to continuing to provide input in the future.
Learn More