News from
The Association for the
Protection of the Adirondacks
www.protectadks.org
January 28, 2009
In this issue…
- Forest Preserve tax cap sets low standard: Take Action
- AFPA and Friends of the Environment lobby on the EPF
- A Message about the AFPA and RCPA efforts to combine
- Lows Lake: DEC attempts to compromise
- AFPA enjoys a January Thaw
- AFPA celebrates Martha Gallagher
Forest Preserve Tax Cap: Governor Paterson’s budgetary proposal to freeze taxes that the State pays on the Forest Preserve in the Adirondacks and Catskills (over $70 million annually) establishes a very grave danger for the parks we love and their communities. The proposal establishes yet another dual standard, requiring all other taxpayers to pay their full tax while freezing New York State’s share. In the 103 towns and villages of the Adirondacks and throughout the Catskills, freezing New York’s taxes on the public’s wilderness means shifting taxes onto other small private landowners, resulting in a possible tax increase of 25 % or more, depending on local budgets.
 Meanwhile, local governments are being asked to accept other State aid reductions. This proposal comes from a Governor who is passionate about easing the burden of high property taxes, yet his proposal will do more to increase that burden on homeowners than anything else we can imagine. AFPA believes that this proposal also sends the worst possible signal that New York is unwilling to pay its way in the Adirondacks and Catskills, a very low standard in the way the State would conduct business in the parks. If not stopped, the tax cap will erode public support for land protection in the Adirondacks, Catskills and across the State. A coalition of more than 100 communities, legislators and organizations is working to amend this proposal in the State legislature.
Take Action: Please write with your concerns to your member in the NYS Senate
(Albany, NY 12247) and Assembly (Albany, NY 12248) or call your representatives atmSenate, 518-455-2800, and Assembly, 518-455-4100. Thank you!
AFPA and Friends of the Environment Lobby on the EPF: Earlier in January, AFPA’s Dan Plumley, Dave Gibson and new AFPA intern Andy Testo joined at the State Capitol with other members of Friends of the Environment, a 200-member coalition dedicated to maintaining and strengthening the State’s only dedicated annual fund for the environment, the Environmental Protection Fund, or EPF. The eight teams of citizen lobbyists visited nearly 70 legislative offices, and spoke with members and staff in the Assembly and Senate. Our messages were simple: keep the EPF’s primary funding source as a portion of the Real Estate Transfer Tax. Pass the Bigger Better Bottle Bill, and use those proceeds to augment the primary funding source over time. Don’t sweep any more money out of the EPF. Keep the legislative target of a $300 million EPF this year, which should grow to $500 million by 2011. We all understood that budget cuts are needed during this recession. However, Governor Paterson’s proposed cuts could result in an 80% reduction in the Fund, which is completely unacceptable. Remember, that the State’s environmental needs amount to $1 billion annually.
Take Action: Please write with your concerns about the EPF to your member in the State Senate and Assembly, or call your representatives. See above for details.
Our work on the EPF began with an Adirondack retreat in November Pictured from left to right: AFPA’s Dan Plumley, Kelly Tucker (Lighthawk), Neil Woodworth (ADK) and Dale Jeffers, member of the AFPA Board
A Message about AFPA and RCPA: The boards of the Association for the  Protection of the Adirondacks and Residents’ Committee to Protect the Adirondacks are exploring combining forces. The discussions have been ongoing since mid-December, and the two organizations have set no deadlines. However, both recognize that the two organizations have complementary missions, policies and programs. Each have strengths to lend to one new organization able to reach more people and more supporters than we can separately in order to increase public awareness, understanding and effectuate actions to protect the Park and uphold Article XIV of the State Constitution which protects the Forest Preserve in the Adirondacks and Catskills. That is the only reason these discussions are ongoing: to better undertake our mission to promote strategies to realize the potential of the Adirondack Park as a world model of integrated conservation in wild and lived in landscapes. An exploratory committee of ten - five trustees from each organization - has been constituted. “The whole purpose of these discussions is to try to become more effective — to combine our forces in a strategic and synergistic fashion”, said Charles Clusen, President of the AFPA’s Board of Trustees. “We found that we share the very same goals and objectives, and that we may be able to accrue significant efficiencies by combining our forces”, said Bob Harrison, Chair of the RCPA’s Board of Directors.
Lows Lake: DEC attempts to compromise: The Department of Environmental  Conservation has just submitted a new amendment that would allow float planes to continue to land on Lows Lake for another 4 years. After that time, regulations would take effect which prohibits all public use of float planes on Lows Lake, just as the public is now prevented from using motorboats on the lake. The State is obligated under the State Land Master Plan to move Lows Lake towards a wilderness condition as fast as possible. AFPA is closely scrutinizing this new proposal, and will be submitting formal comments and encouraging our activists to write letters to the Adirondack Park Agency and DEC in the near future. Our initial reactions are that the new proposal suffers from many of the deficiencies of the former 10-year proposal that was rejected by the APA last October, including a lack of any assessment of the impact of this proposal on the carrying capacity of the lake, or its wildlife.
AFPA Enjoys a January Thaw: Nearly 100 friends and supporters joined our  board, staff and volunteers at our Center in Niskayuna this month for a wonderful evening of good company, food, music and literary readings on a night we predicted would usher in a January thaw. We certainly all thawed internally, and enjoyed each other’s company enormously. Great thanks to our musicians Dan Berggren and David Kiphuth, author Kirby White, author of the new Adirondack mystery, Wilder Ponds and the book’s underwriter, the Capital District Community Loan Fund and its Executive Director Bob Radliffe. Kirby generously donated the proceedings of the evening’s book sale to AFPA. We also were glad to present our Library Volunteer of the Year award to Susan Baker, and recognition awards to our musical artists Dan Berggren and Dave Kiphuth. Thanks to Ken Rimany and everyone on our staff for pulling together the people who made this wonderful winter celebration.
AFPA Celebrates Martha Gallagher: AFPA recently celebrated Adirondack  harpist and performer Martha Gallagher by hosting our third reception after her Not Yet Out of the Woods musical concert series. The event took place, once again, at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts. Hundreds of Martha’s fans and friends joined her and her musical entourage for a memorable night of live music. AFPA’s Dan Plumley worked closely with Adirondack Harvest and area food donors and Karmel DeStefano with are wine dealers to make the reception a great success. We owe Dan, Karmel and these loc businesses and nonprofits a great debt of thanks. Also, great thanks to Peter and Barbar Brinkley for their critical support of this important event in the Lake Placid and AFPA winter calendar.
Giving…Thanks: We at AFPA give thanks to all those who have given and continue to give generously this season to the educational and advocacy work of the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks. To donate or get involved, please contact us at any time here or on the web at www.protectadks.org. Blessings to all.
Until next time…
David Gibson
Executive Director
The Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks
www.protectadks.org
518-377-1452, Ext. 1
897 St. Davids Lane
Niskayuna, NY 12309
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