LOWVILLE — At their most recent monthly meeting on Feb. 7, the Lewis County Board of Legislators (BOL) passed a resolution approving the Full Environmental Assessment Form (FEAF) for the county’s proposed railway project, which would transform many miles of inactive rail track in Lewis County into hiking and recreational trails.

Resolution no. 12-2023 is titled, “Determination of significance for proposed purchase of real property pursuant to the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act.” It explains that last year, Lewis County expressed its intention to purchase property owned by Mohawk, Adirondack & Northern Railroad Corporation, Lowville & Beaver River Railroad Company, and Genesee Valley Transportation Co., Inc.

At the moment, the county is in the process of forming a purchase agreement with these entities. Before the purchase can be completed, however, the county must determine the environmental impact of the project by reviewing and approving a FEAF.

The property to be purchased includes 48 separate parcels, totaling more than 250 acres, with around 30 miles of mostly inactive rail track located in four corridors throughout the county: the Carthage Line, which travels north from Lowville to Carthage; the Croghan Line, which runs northeast from Lowville to Croghan; the Village of Lowville line, which runs north to south in and through the Village of Lowville; and the Village of Lyons Falls line, which runs south from the county’s multi-use trail through the Village of Lyons Falls to the south side of McAlpine Street.

The county intends to transform most of these railways into hiking and recreational trails, with the exception of certain portions of track in the Croghan and Village of Lyons Falls lines, which will be preserved for purposes of tourism and rail car storage.

Resolution no. 12-2023 states, “The action is anticipated to have a positive future impact on the quality of the community’s aesthetic resources by enabling the county to create trails for public use. Ultimately, this is expected to result in substantial improvements to the quality of the community’s aesthetic resources through the replacement of abandoned or underutilized railroad infrastructure with public recreational trails.”

According to the resolution, the FEAF reported that the project will have no adverse effects on soil, water or air quality, nor will it impact flora or fauna in the area. The FEAF also reported that the project would pose no hazards to human health, nor would it impair the character or quality of important historical, archaeological, architectural or aesthetic resources in the community.

The BOL found the information provided in the FEAF was sufficient and approved it. In closing, the resolution states, “The Lewis County BOL hereby authorizes the Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Board to execute the proposed agreement and to take such further action as may be required to complete the transaction contemplated thereunder.”

Resolution no. 12-2023 may be found in a document titled, “2023-2-7 Legislative Media Notice & Resolutions,” accessible at lewiscounty.org.