Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks says State taxes on Forest Preserve will continue; Opposes moratorium on land acquisition; Urges State leaders to reassure Adirondack and Catskill communities on State tax payments and land protection

Keene, NY - The Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks says that State tax payments on the publicly-owned “forever wild” Forest Preserve in the Adirondack and Catskill regions are an essential and inviolate commitment by the State of New York on behalf of every New Yorker who benefits from the wildlife, wilderness, watershed, and recreational benefits the Forest Preserve provides.

Further, while The Association is concerned about a recent ruling by Supreme Court Judge Timothy Walker that questions the equity and fairness of State tax payments on other types of State land, it does not believe that ruling or later appellate decisions will ultimately threaten Forest Preserve payments. The group pledges to join with local governments should Forest Preserve tax payments ever actually be threatened, and asks Governor Spitzer and DEC Commissioner Grannis to reassure local governments on this point.  The Judge stayed his own ruling, meaning that State Land taxes on Forest Preserve will be paid as usual this March. The Attorney General has indicated his office plans to appeal.

The Association also believes that some Adirondack area legislators are misinterpreting and exploiting the decision by proposing a moratorium on all State land acquisition until the Appellate Court rules on Judge Walker’s decision.

The so-called “Dillenburg decision” by Judge Timothy Walker, Supreme Court in the 7^th District, Chautauqua County was in response to a suit filed by John C. Dillenburg, III, Supervisor of the Town of Arkwright who wants the State to pay taxes on State reforestation lands in his township.

Judge Walker’s ruling is principally about equal and fair payments on State reforestation lands in western New York, far removed from the Adirondacks. A moratorium on State land protection of critical, publicly- supported land and easement acquisitions is completely unsupported by the Judge’s ruling,” said Dan Plumley, Association Director of Park Protection. “There is no need to be alarmist here.

Plumley added, “Judge Walker’s decision itself made the State’s interest and long-standing commitment in providing tax payments on Forest Preserve lands overwhelmingly clear.  His decision with respect to the Forest Preserve states, in part, that, “it is beyond dispute that the original justification for allowing taxation of some state lands bore a relationship to a legitimate state purpose.

By law since 1886, the State has consistently paid taxes for all purposes in every town where Forest Preserve exists, now amounting to about $70 million annually to Adirondack Park communities and $30 million to Catskill local governments. Incidentally, none of these State lands require expensive local government services.

State Assemblywoman Theresa Sayward and Senator Betty Little have proposed a moratorium on all State land acquisition until the matter can be addressed on appeal, or by new legislation. Senator Little has gone further, suggesting that a moratorium on land acquisition is appropriate because, “enough is enough,” suggesting that there is sufficient State land in the Adirondacks and that potential purchases of land, like the 161,000-acre Finch, Pruyn properties only conflict with development needed for families, homesites and businesses.

The proposed moratorium on all future State land purchases does nothing to assure continued tax payments on the existing 3 million acres of Forest Preserve. And, if the State can not compete to acquire important lands coming on the market in the near future, those very lands could be enrolled under the forest tax law by private land owners, who then receive an 80 percent tax exemption, thus forcing other landowners to be taxed more to be able to maintain local services. A moratorium thus would actually run counter to the best interests of Adirondack and Catskill residents,” says Association Executive Director David Gibson.

New York State has fostered a critical partnership to achieve Forest Preserve protection through the payment of taxes on State Lands.  The effort has been critical to all communities across the Adirondack and Catskill Parks, and we will work with the Attorney General, local and state legislators and park communities to insure that these payments will continue,” Gibson added.

We ask Governor Spitzer and Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis to make it explicitly clear that the State will both continue to pay taxes for all purposes, and continue to protect qualified lands from willing sellers within the Adirondack and Catskill Parks while the Dillenburg decision is under appeal,” Gibson stated. “Many critical forest and wild land tracts that are now, or may soon come on the market, deserve conservation protection and must not be sidelined during the appeal and resolution of the Judge’s ruling.

These critical tracts include the 161,000-acre Finch Pruyn lands now owned by the Adirondack Nature Conservancy, the 50,000-acres of Clerical Medical forest lands, over 40,000-acres of Lassiter timber lands and easements and, possibly soon, the 14,000-acre Follensby tract and others.  “Conservation of these lands in the Forest Preserve and by the use of conservation easements contributes very essentially to the region’s economic and community development, including the tourism economy.

The Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks is a non-profit, membership organization founded in 1901 to employ public education, citizen action, public and private partnerships and strong advocacy to protect, enhance, and sustain the wild character, ecological integrity, and mutual well-being of the natural and human communities of the Adirondack region.

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