A coalition of 10 conservation and educational organizations has sent a letter to New York State Governor Kathy Hochul urging her upcoming State of the State message and Executive Budget proposal to advance investments and strengthened policies to improve the protection and management of the Adirondack Park. [Read more…] about 10 Organizations Unite to Call for Adirondack Investments
Environmental Protection Fund
1,300 Acres Protected in Taconic Mountains
1,300 acres of forest and grasslands in the Taconic Mountains in the town of Berlin, Rensselaer County, has been protected by the State of New York.
The recent acquisition will connect the Taconic Ridge and Berlin State Forests, preserve open space, and expand recreational opportunities. [Read more…] about 1,300 Acres Protected in Taconic Mountains
Lake Ontario, St. Lawrence River Projects Funded
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Syracuse-based Great Lakes Research Consortium (GLRC) have announced nearly $90,000 in grant awards for three research projects that will address priority issues identified by New York’s Great Lakes Action Agenda and support science needs of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2023 Cooperative Science Monitoring Initiative on Lake Ontario. [Read more…] about Lake Ontario, St. Lawrence River Projects Funded
DEC Releases Draft Great Lakes Action Agenda
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has released the draft New York’s Great Lakes Action Agenda 2022-2030, a multi-year action plan to guide restoration and conservation, and foster sustainable, resilient, communities in New York’s Great Lakes region. [Read more…] about DEC Releases Draft Great Lakes Action Agenda
Forever Adirondacks Campaign Celebrates Budget Victories
The coalition supporting the new Forever Adirondacks Campaign for clean water, jobs and wilderness – led by the Adirondack Council’s Aaron Mair – declared victory as state government moved to approve a budget that includes funding for a series of top campaign priorities.
The Forever Adirondacks Campaign is a coalition of advocates, government officials, business leaders, educators, college administrators, grassroots activists and not-for-profit organizational partners seeking clean water, jobs and wilderness. [Read more…] about Forever Adirondacks Campaign Celebrates Budget Victories
Friends Groups Get $900,000 in NY State Grants
Thirty not-for-profit organizations across the state involved with stewardship of state parks, trails, historic sites, and public lands recently received $900,000 in funding under the state’s Park and Trail Partnership Grants program. [Read more…] about Friends Groups Get $900,000 in NY State Grants
New State Land Purchase In Warren County Includes Climbing Access
New York State has acquired 1,263 acres of land in the Warren County town of Johnsburg in the Southern Adirondacks. The parcel includes Huckleberry Mountain, an elongated peak that tops 2,400 feet, with spectacular cliffs on the ridge’s south and southwest face. The parcel is now part of the Adirondack Forest Preserve, and is expected to become part of the Wilcox Lake Wild Forest.
In 1911 Huckleberry Mountain was proposed as a site for a massive dam.
[Read more…] about New State Land Purchase In Warren County Includes Climbing Access
DEC Conservation Partnership Program Grant Awardees
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced more than $2.2 million in Conservation Partnership Program grants for 50 not-for-profit land trusts across the state. [Read more…] about DEC Conservation Partnership Program Grant Awardees
175 Organizations Launch Coalition for Environmental Funding
More than 175 groups have launched a new coalition in an effort to protect funding for environmental programs. The programs support hundreds of thousands of jobs, protect clean drinking water, create new parks, help advance environmental justice, and work to mitigate the impacts of climate change. [Read more…] about 175 Organizations Launch Coalition for Environmental Funding
Budget, New Funding Boosts New York History
This week Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced $89 million for in New York Works funding for capital improvements at 48 specific state parks and historic sites that account for 37 million of the park system’s 57 million annual visitors. The state budget signed last week also includes $35.6 million in total funding for the New York State Council on the Arts grants, an increase of $4 million. The Environmental Protection Fund is unchanged, at $134 million which includes 9M for the Zoos, Botanical Gardens and Aquariums Program and additional monies for some historic preservation projects. According to the Museum Association of New York (MANY), there are no cuts in jobs or programs at the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, but “Parks would be down 12 jobs, to 1,736, reflecting attrition and the ongoing hiring freeze.” Funding to run the parks would dip slightly, about 2.5 percent, to $211.3 million according to MANY.
According to a press statement issued by the Governor’s office, New York Works is designed to reinvent state economic development with innovative new strategy that will put New Yorkers back to work rebuilding the state’s infrastructure. The Task Force is expected to help create tens of thousands of jobs by coordinating comprehensive capital plans, overseeing investment in infrastructure projects, and accelerating hundreds of critical projects across the state.
Parks & Trails New York was among those who reacted enthusiastically to the New York Works plan. Through a series of reports over the last few years, Parks & Trails New York has attempted to document the challenges facing the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP), particularly the agency’s enormous capital projects backlog, and the economic benefit the park system generates for the people and economy of the Empire State.
On a statewide basis, Parks & Trails New York reports that direct spending by OPRHP and spending by visitors to state parks supports up to $1.9 billion in output and sales, $440 million in employment income, and 20,000 jobs. The benefit-to-cost ratio is more than 5-to-1—more than $5 in benefits for every $1 in costs.
A detailing of projects in each region of the state can be found by using the Governor’s press releases here.