The Watertown Jefferson County Area Transportation Council (WJCTC) is the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) designated by the Governor of the State of New York for the City of Watertown and surrounding area in Jefferson County. It has the responsibility of developing and maintaining both a Regional Transportation Plan and a Transportation Improvement Program for the area's federal aid eligible highway and public transit facilities. The Council was established in 2014 when the population of the Watertown urbanized area exceeded 50,000 as determined by the 2010 Census. It was determined that the geographic area for the Council's transportation planning would be limited to the adjusted urbanized area.
The Council consists of three principal working groups – the Policy Committee (PC), the Highway Technical Committee (HTC) and the Transit Technical Committee (TTC). The Policy Committee is responsible for reviewing and approving all planning undertaken by the Council and its staff. The Technical Committees are responsible for coordinating transportation planning activities and providing technical advice to the PC. The Technical Committees are composed of professional/technical staff representatives from each of the member governments. The HTC will focus on highway/bridge issues, while the TTC will focus on transit issues within the WJCTC boundary. For more information: http://www.wjctc.org/
The New York Agricultural Districts law was enacted in 1971 to protect and promote farm land and farm activities throughout the state. According to the NYSDEC, the purpose of agricultural districts is to encourage agricultural activity and protect farm land. Upon creation of an agricultural district, local laws may not “unreasonably restrict or regulate farm operations, “unless public health or safety is threatened. Each certified agricultural district must go through a recertification process every eight years to ensure the majority of the land within the district is used for agricultural purposes. New properties may be added to an agricultural district once per year during an annual inclusion period.
The manned entry points for Fort Drum. The main gate, LTG Paul Cerjan Gate, is located near the intersection of Interstate 781 and US Route 11 and is operational 24 hours a day. The Mt. Belvedere Gate on the south side of Fort Drum and the Oneida Gate (also known as the Gas Alley Gate)and Wheeler‐Sack Army Airfield Gate (which provides access to the airfield) along State Route 26 are also open 24 hours a day. Entry through any of the gates requires proper credentials and authorization.
Fort Drum comprises 108,733 acres in northwestern New York State. The majority of the installation, including the cantonment area and airfield, is located in Jefferson County, while a small portion in the northeast of the base is located in Lewis County. St. Lawrence County forms the northern edge of the base.
The primarily residential section of Fort Drum. Except for WSAAF, most of the development on Fort Drum is contained within the cantonment area. Fort Drum’s cantonment area is located in the southwestern portion of the base. It contains the installation’s housing and lodging units and support facilities, including the Garrison headquarters, administrative buildings, vehicle maintenance facilities, barracks, classrooms and educational amenities, and recreational facilities. Figure 3‐3 illustrates the various types of land use in the cantonment area and at WSAAF. The cantonment area contains 10,434 acres of land, roughly 3,600 acres of which are local training areas. It contains 7,900 barracks rooms and 3,863 housing units.
The training area comprises 78,077 acres of Fort Drum northeast of the cantonment area and Wheeler‐Sack Army Airfield. The Impact Area covers an additional 20,222 acres and is surrounded by training area. There are a total of 70 training areas throughout Fort Drum, with the capability to support a multitude of training operations and missions for the US Army, US Air Force, and National Guard. The training area is dedicated to three primary training functions: ranges for weapon training; maneuver areas to train on varying terrain and landscapes; and built‐up areas to train in an urban environment.
Fort Drum has 47 ranges, 195 surveyed firing points, 40 small caliber weapons firing ranges, 70 training areas, and one Impact Area. In addition, there is a First US Army Convoy Live Fire, Live Fire Shoothouse, several Military Operations Urban Terrain, Combined Arms Collective Training Facility, and a Home Station Trainer.
Fort Drum is currently under consideration by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) for a new Ground‐based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system. GMD systems track, intercept, and destroy enemy attack missiles on route to the US. The MDA has identified a 1,000‐acre site on the east side of Fort Drum, which would result in the closure of Route 3A.
There are two other sites where the MDA site may be developed—Camp Ravenna Joint Training Center in Ohio and Fort Custer Training Center in Michigan. The Pentagon will recommend one of the sites to Congress for Congressional approval before any development begins.
The ACUB Program permits Army Installations to work with other organization partners (e.g., land trusts) to acquire land or development rights to establish buffer zones that can help protect habitats, sensitive areas, and military training areas without acquiring any new land for Army ownership. Through these programs, Fort Drum has partnered with various entities to identify key parcels that can be preserved to provide a buffer around the installation. A secondary consideration in selecting parcels is also to preserve habitat for species such as the endangered Indiana Bat to reduce the dependency of Fort Drum land to support the species. Development rights acquired through ACUB are only executed with willing sellers and the private property remains in private ownership. As of August 2017, Fort Drum and its partners have completed 25 ACUB projects and preserved 7,600 acres of land around the installation within the priority areas identified through the ACUB program. The ACUB priority areas are identified as follows:
These are parcels that have undergone an easement agreement. Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust oversees the process for Fort Drum. As of September 2015, Fort Drum and its partners have conducted 27 transactions and preserved 6,099 acres of land around the installation within the priority areas identified through the ACUB program. The majority of this has been through partnership with the THTLT to preserve working farmland from future incompatible development.
Aviation Routes are general military flight routes that are used to access Range 48 and WSAAF. The flight routes to and from Range 48, where aerial gunnery and bombing occurs, enter and exit Fort Drum on the northern portion of the installation and include different looping routes based on the activity that is occurring. Since WSAAF has three runways, there are multiple ingress and egress points to the airfield, depending on which runway is being used. The runway that is used is determined by a variety of factors such as type of aircraft, wind / weather conditions, and operation of other aircraft near the airfield. Flight routes at WSAAF also include closed pattern routes, which are used for circling and touch‐and‐go operations. The flight routes for Range 48 and WSAAF are shown on. The locations of these flight routes are approximate, as the precise flight track used may vary based on factors such as weather conditions, air traffic control, and decisions made by the pilot that vary slightly from the route shown on the figure.
The Wheeler‐Sack Army Airfield is an Army Power Projection Platform (AP3) and contains 1,930 acres of land immediately northeast of the cantonment area. The airfield was significantly expanded in 1997 after the Defense Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission recommended the deployment mission at Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, New York to be realigned to WSAAF at Fort Drum. The airfield, aviation ranges, and surrounding airspace are used by the Army, Air Force, Air National Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy for various training missions.
Military Training Routes (MTRs) allow the military to conduct low‐level, high‐speed training. The purpose of developing and charting MTRs on maps is to make non‐participating aircraft aware of the presence of high speed military air traffic in the vicinity. An MTR is a defined volume of airspace designed for use by military aircraft. Aircraft in MTRs are authorized to and usually exceed airspeeds of 250 knots indicated airspeed. MTRs are broken out into points and sometimes different points of one MTR have different operational allowances, such as floor altitudes or different corridor widths. The floor altitudes of MTRs are identified either in mean sea level (MSL) or above ground level (AGL) altitudes.
There are five MTRs around Fort Drum that are used by aircraft operating at or near the installation. Four of the MTRs are visual routes (VR) – VR 724, VR 725, VR 1800, and VR 1801; and one is an instrument route (IR), IR 801.
Restricted Airspace designates areas where ongoing or intermittent activities occur that create usual and often invisible hazards to aircraft. Around Army posts, this usually means low-level helicopter flying, para drop operations and weapons ranges. Restricted airspace is specifically designated in areas where flight or ground activities must be confined as they could be considered hazardous to non‐participating aircraft. Restricted airspace is bounded by a floor (minimum altitude a plane can fly) and a ceiling (maximum altitude a plane can fly). Restricted airspace is designated under 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 73 and is utilized for hazardous flight activity and aircraft testing including high speed maneuvering, abrupt altitude changes, and other dynamic, on‐standard aircraft activity.
Birds and animals can present a significant hazard to military flight operations. While fatal accidents resulting from bird or wildlife strikes have been limited, impacts can be a safety concern and cause significant damage to aircraft. Bird or animal strikes in the US since 1980 have approached approximately 20,000 events that have resulted in2 deaths, 25 aircraft destroyed and over $300 million in damage.
Certain types of land uses attract birds and wildlife, such as open water areas, standing water, and other natural areas. The Cantonment Area has expanded to develop around WSAAF; however, the airfield is still partially surrounded by woodlands on three sides. Additionally, there are approximately 247 acres of early successional woodlands and shrub lands located within the WSAAF perimeter’s west side, along with roughly 1,346 acres of grassland / rangeland areas. These natural areas surrounding WSAAF offer potential habitats for a variety of wildlife. Of important note is that the majority of Fort Drum is also classified as a Continental‐Level Priority Important Bird Area by the Audubon Society, and supports grassland and shrub breeding bird populations of significant importance.
A BASH program has already been adopted by Fort Drum to reduce the impact of wildlife on aircraft operations. Figure 10 shows a five‐mile radius around the WSAAF airfield operations area. Based on FAA statistical analysis, this is the primary area of concern for BASH incidents to occur, and the primary focus of compatibility planning for this issue.
A MOA is airspace designated to separate or segregate certain non‐hazardous military activities from Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) traffic and to identify for Visual Flight Rules (VFR) traffic where military activities are conducted. These are designed for routine training or testing maneuvers. Military Operating Areas consist of airspace of defined vertical and lateral limits established for the purpose of separating certain military training activities from IFR traffic. Examples of activities conducted in MOAs include, but are not limited to:
• Air combat tactics
• Air intercepts
• Low‐altitude tactics
• UAV operations
Flight activity in the MOAs typically occurs above 2,000 feet above ground level, with the majority of the activity taking place between 4,000 and 18,000 feet above ground level, but can occur as low as 100 feet in designated areas.
Wheeler‐Sack Army Airfield has safety zones associated with its runways to limit and guide development and protect the safety of the public and aircrews while simultaneously allowing for continued economic growth. The DOD has created safety zones around runways and landing areas based on historical data where an aircraft accident is most likely to occur. These safety zones are clear zones (CZ), accident potential zone I (APZ I), and accident potential zone II (APZ II) and are based on the dimensions of the runway.
Clear Zone (CZ) -- The CZ is the area where is most likely for an aircraft mishap is most likely to occur. For WSAAF, the CZ measures 3,000 feet long from the end of the runway, with a width of 1,000 feet. Permitted land uses within this zone are substantially limited and include transportation, communication, and utilities infrastructure necessary for airfield operations, as well as unoccupied open space and limited agricultural. All Clear Zones extending from Wheeler‐Sack Army Airfield runways are completely contained within Fort Drum boundaries.
Accident Potential Zone I (APZ I) – APZ I is located adjacent to the CZ boundary and extends for a length of 5,000 additional feet, with a width of 1,000 feet. This area typically experiences fewer accidents than the clear zone; and has less restrictions. Permitted land uses within this zone are limited to non‐occupied structures, thus residential land uses are prohibited.
Accident Potential Zone II (APZ II) -- APZ II begins at the out boundary of APZ I and extends for a length of 7,000 feet with a width of 1,000 feet. The APZ II is where development is the least restricted due to the lower risk of accidents as it is further from the runway. Warehouse and maintenance facilities are permitted within the footprint, as well as single family residential properties up to two dwelling units per acre maximum, as recommended by DOD guidelines for APZ II.
An important outcome of the Federal Aviation Act is Federal Aviation Regulation Title 14 Part 77 commonly known as Part 77, which provides the basis for evaluation of vertical obstruction compatibility / recommended land use. This regulation provides information to evaluate the potential for a vertical obstruction based on the elevation of the airfield, the height and resulting elevation of the new structure or facility, and the location of the structure or facility relative to the airfield in question. This regulation promulgates obstruction standards relative to their distance around a runway.
A height that is 200 feet AGL or above the established airport elevation, whichever is higher, and within three nautical miles of the established reference point of an airport, excluding heliports, with its longest runway more than 3,200 feet in actual length is considered a vertical obstruction. This height increases in the proportion of100 feet for each additional nautical mile of distance from the airport up to a maximum of 499 feet.
Watershed Biodiversity Score is a vector layer in which all HUC-12 watersheds in NYS were scored for their relative biodiversity value from the Biodiversity Indicator Tool on a scale of 1- 5. Higher scores indicate that more biodiversity features from the input data layers were present; lower scores indicate fewer co-occurring features. This is not a substitute for field work or detailed ecological knowledge of existing conditions on the ground.
An ecological community is a variable assemblage of interacting plant and animal populations that share a common environment. As part of the New York Natural Heritage Program inventory, this classification has been developed to help assess and protect the biological diversity of the state. NY Natural Heritage inventory work allows us to maintain a regularly updated database of information on rare animals, rare plants, and significant natural communities of New York State. This inventory also provides a ranking system for determining priorities for conservation and management of New York State's significant natural areas. Ecological Communities of New York State are available online via the NYS DEC website (http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/29384.html). Check the NY Natural Heritage web page for the latest information about the program and our classification (http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/29338.html). NY Natural Heritage natural community Conservation Guides are posted online as well (http://www.acris.nynhp.org/communities.php). The guides include digital photographs, statewide distribution maps, vegetation coverage data, cross-references to other classifications, and more.
Features represent occurrences of rare or high-quality natural communities (ecological communities), as recorded by the New York Natural Heritage Program. An occurrence is one natural community type at one location. Examples of community types include deep emergent marsh, red maple-hardwood swamp, dwarf shrub bog, hemlock-northern hardwood forest, and tidal creek.
Aircraft noise can come from flight operations (overflight, take‐offs, landings, touch‐and‐go operations) and engine maintenance run‐ups. The Army considers how its operations impact the local community by calculating an average‐weighted noise level measured as a day‐night average A‐weighted sound level (ADNL). The Fort Drum Installation Compatibility Zone Plan uses the DOD NOISEMAP program to produce noise contours indicating noise exposure levels from aircraft operations using an average of all types of aircraft at Fort Drum. Fort Drum’s most recent ICUZ was updated in April, 2016, and can be found on our resource page: https://www.fortdrumcompatibility.org/resources
Noise Subzone III ( >75 ADNL dB)
Noise Subzone II ( 65-75 ADNL dB)
Medium / large caliber weapons are those that fire ammunition larger than 20mm and typically include mountable weapons, rockets, and weapons designed to penetrate vehicle, or structural armor, and may also include weapons that cause explosions. Medium / large caliber weapons training occurs on a daily basis at Fort Drum. Weapons used include artillery, mortars, aerial gunnery, rockets, grenade launchers, and explosive charges.
Noise Zone III ( > 70 CDNL dB)
Noise Zone II ( 62-70 CDNL dB)
Fort Drum has two radars, the Digital Airport Surveillance Radar (DASR) at Wheeler-Army Airfield (WSAAF) and the DOD-owned WSR-88D Doppler radar (KTYX) that meteorologists at the National Weather Service and local weather stations use to predict and forecast the daily weather for the North Country. The Wheeler-Sack Army Air Field radar monitors and coordinates air traffic at Fort Drum and in the airspace around the installation. The National Weather Service radar is operated by the Air Force’s 18th Weather Squadron, and is located off‐installation in the Town of Montague, Lewis County. The two facilities have very different missions from each other, but both rely on having clear unobstructed view sheds to operate properly, requiring clear lines‐of‐sight in all directions so that they can monitor aircraft, potential threats, and weather conditions. The equipment in each radar can experience operational interference by a variety of objects including terrain, tall structures and towers, and wind turbines, all based on elevations and topography differences between the location of the radar and the potential interference.
A general line‐of‐sight image of the areas where data may be corrupted resulting from these industrial wind energy projects. This figure is meant only for reference purposes to show the line‐of‐sight view of the radar and how existing industrial wind energy projects impede it.
The figure is not meant to indicate that the radar cannot see anything within the red area, but simply that there is a higher chance for data corruption within the red area.
A general line‐of‐sight image of the areas where data may be corrupted resulting from these industrial wind energy projects. This figure is meant only for reference purposes to show the line‐of‐sight view of the radar and how existing industrial wind energy projects impede it.
The figure is not meant to indicate that the radar cannot see anything within the red area, but simply that there is a higher chance for data corruption within the red area.
NEXRAD or Nexrad (Next-Generation Radar) is a network of 159 high-resolution S-band Doppler weather radars operated by the National Weather Service (NWS), an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) within the United States Department of Commerce, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) within the Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Air Force within the Department of Defense (DOD). Its technical name is WSR-88D, which stands for Weather Surveillance Radar, 1988, Doppler. NEXRAD is used to warn the people of the United States about dangerous weather and its location. There are 160 operational NEXRAD radar systems deployed throughout the United States and at selected overseas locations. The maximum range of the NEXRAD radar is 250 nautical miles. The NEXRAD network provides significant improvements in severe weather and flash flood warnings, air traffic safety, flow control for air traffic, resource protection at military bases, and management of water, agriculture, forest, and snow removal.
In 1988, the NEXRAD Agencies established the WSR-88D Radar Operations Center (ROC). The ROC provides centralized meteorological, software, maintenance, and engineering support for all WSR-88D systems. WSR-88D systems will be modified and enhanced during their operational life to meet changing requirements, technology advances, and improved understanding of the application of these systems to real-time weather operations. The ROC also operates WSR-88D test systems for the development of hardware and software upgrades to enhance maintenance, operation, and provide new functionality. The ROC has developed a four zone scheme that takes terrain, distance, and the number of elevation angles impacted into account. The four zones use terminology that communicates to wind farm developers the desired action. These zones, defined below, are: no build, mitigation, consultation and notification.
The wind power class of a wind turbine is a rating system that is used to rank the quality of the location of a wind turbine and the average wind speed of that location. The higher the wind power class number, the more acceptable the site location will be for a wind turbine project. This layer represents the annual average wind resource data used in the Renewable Electricity Futures Study (http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/re_futures). It is a composite of the best available data at the time the original analysis was completed, in 2010. The onshore wind resource data was modeled on a state or regional basis, and inconsistencies exist at the state boundaries because of differences in modeling assumptions and resolutions. The majority of the onshore wind data was modeled at a 50 m hub height, and vertically adjusted to 80 m height to better represent current wind technology. Onshore and offshore wind resource are represented as wind power class.
Wind Power Class | Wind Power Density (W/m2) | Speed (m/s) |
3 | 300-400 | 6.4-7.0 |
4 | 400-500 | 7.0-7.5 |
5 | 500-600 | 7.5-8.0 |
6 | 600-800 | 8.0-8.8 |
7 | >800 | >8.8 |
The National Register is the official Federal list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects significant in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture. National Register properties have significance to the history of their community state, or the nation. Nominations for listing historic properties come from State Historic Preservation Officers, from Federal Preservation Officers for properties owned or controlled by the United States Government, and from Tribal Historic Preservation Officers for properties on Tribal lands. Private individuals and organizations, local governments, and American Indian tribes often initiate this process and prepare the necessary documentation. A professional review board in each state considers each property proposed for listing and makes a recommendation on its eligibility.