ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A lawsuit against the state over construction of new snowmobile trails in the Adirondacks may be sorted out at a trial.

The environmental group Protect the Adirondacks sued the state, saying the so-called "community connector" trails violate the "forever wild" clause of the state's constitution because tens of thousands of trees are being cut.

The Department of Environmental Conservation contends the number of trees being cut is far less. Central to the dispute is the definition of a tree.

Both sides argued before a trial-level state supreme court judge in December, seeking a decision without a trial.

Justice Gerald Connolly has ruled in a decision dated Jan. 25 that the factual disputes must be settled in a trial.

More From WIBX 950