Recent Black River Trail Scenic Byway News

• ANCA continued to manage a contract with the Tug Hill Commission in the development of the Black River Byway Corridor Management Plan.
• The Commission continued to maintain public outreach and communications on the project through press releases, flyers and direct invitations to two hundred stakeholders.
• Through the development of a corresponding Blueway Plan for the corridor, the Commission is developing two corresponding plans for the waterway and byway that will interrelate and benefit Black River communities.
• Tug Hill Commission staff are working with community members in the identification of the intrinsic qualities, existing conditions, and resources of the corridor. Future plans include development of the Transportation and Community Design, Recreational Issues and Needs, the Implementation Strategy and Action Plan. Additionally, the Commission is working to refine the vision and corresponding goals of the plan while reviewing complementary studies and reports.
• GIS maps that were prepared for the project in 2006 are being used in the community work sessions to identify needs and significant resources.
• The Commission completed the NYSDOS Blueway Plan and is integrating the plan into the byway work.
• The Commission has continued to explore and discuss the alternate plans for the byway that would follow the Black River’s pathway west to Lake Ontario. A northern community group along the existing byway is exploring a theme that could be used to name the northern remaining portion of the corridor if the western extension is implemented.
• The Tug Hill Commission has started the St. Lawrence County segment of the planning work, including discussion of a loop into Canton and the potential for an appropriate name.
• Four planning meetings were hosted by the Commission on August 14, Ogdensburg; August 21, Croghan; August 21, Governeur; August 21, Canton. Three hundred and forty-one businesses received meeting announcements to the different sessions.