Town, trust fighting for park

CLAYTON — The town and the Thousand Islands Land Trust are joining forces to help keep Canoe-Picnic Point State Park on Grindstone Island open this year.

"We hope that the state parks would keep the parks open," said town Supervisor Justin A. Taylor. "But in case they are not able to do so, we would like to help them maintain Canoe-Picnic and keep it open this summer."

Andrew T. Wood, executive director of the Clayton-based land trust, said the partners plan to recruit volunteers to help maintain and staff Canoe-Picnic, hold fundraisers and take money out of its own budget to hire full-time employees to staff the park if the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation allows it to do so.

"The parks are absolutely vital for the economy in the region," Mr. Wood said, adding that state parks are inexpensive destinations for outdoor enthusiasts and families which attract thousands of visitors to the riverfront communities.

In the Thousand Islands park system, seven parks, including Canoe-Picnic, and a historic site are slated to close because of a proposed $485,000 spending cut for the regional office.

These parks will remain open for public access, but floating docks will not be installed this summer and overnight camping will be prohibited. Recreational boaters may use the permanent docks to access the island parks.

Canoe-Picnic, like the other sites on the closing list, was unable to cover its seasonal expenses with its seasonal revenue and had lost roughly $10,000 last year. However, Mr. Taylor said, the town and TILT believe that the park could break even with their support.

Although it is only accessible by boat, Canoe-Picnic Point State Park attracts more than 7,000 visitors, including 4,000 campers, a year, according to the state parks office. The park has five cabins and 19 campsites in a wooded area, a waterfront picnic ground with a gazebo and a cooking facility.

Mr. Taylor said the plans are still preliminary but that the town and TILT hope to meet with state parks officials to discuss the future of Canoe-Picnic soon.

Mr. Wood said the land trust has a great working relationship with the regional state parks office and that the two organizations have been sharing the cost of maintenance for TILT's Grindstone Island Nature Trail since the mile-and-a-half walking and biking trail was opened 10 years ago.

"I think state parks always has been in favor of working with us," Mr. Wood said. "We do a lot of trail maintenance so we can help them do that. We can work together to keep this park open."