The adopted State Budget funds critical programs within the Adirondack Park, but EPF funding for conservation, land protection and stewardship projects is reduced

The State Budget that was finally adopted at the end of May 2026 includes funding for many programs and initiatives that benefit the Adirondacks. Most of the programs have been funded at the levels that they were in the last fiscal year budget or were slightly reduced. However, the dedicated funding in the State Budget for open space land acquisition and conservation projects across the State, including in the Adirondacks, and for the stewardship of State lands, including in the Adirondacks, has been dramatically cut as compared to last year’s State Budget. Combined, the funds in the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) for open space projects and stewardship of State lands has been cut by almost $20 million from last year’s funding. In a different part of the budget, there is language authorizing, but not requiring, $25 million to be transferred to the EPF for open space projects and stewardship.

Protect the Adirondacks, Inc. (PROTECT), along with several other Adirondack organizations, work hard advocating for State funding for important Adirondacks programs and initiatives throughout the Adirondack Park. Our letter to the Governor earlier in the budget process is here.  After the Governor’s budget proposal was released, we urged the Legislature to restore funding for Adirondack programs that were reduced or eliminated from the Governor proposed budget. In January 2026, we testified before the the State Legislature about our funding requests (our testimony is available here).

PROTECT’s applauded the New York State Senate and Assembly for their one-house FY2027 budget proposals that provided strong funding for the Adirondack Park. Both proposals increased the Environmental Protection Fund and restored and/or enhanced support for several Adirondack programs that were reduced or eliminated from the Governor’s proposed budget.

 

$425 Million for Environmental Protection Fund

The Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) is the main source of funding for stewardship of public lands within the Adirondack Park and for the environmentally sound economic development of communities in the Park. We were pleased that Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposed budget included $425 million for the EPF. Both houses of the State Legislature proposed increasing the EPF to $500 million for FY2027.

The final State Budget includes $425 million for the EPF. This continues the historic level of funding that was provided in last year’s State Budget. However, the need for these funds to address the increasingly serious environmental challenges facing the State and the increased costs of responding to those challenges and of enhancing the State’s environmental quality exceeds this amount. We continue to urge the Governor and Legislature to strive to increase EPF funding to $500 million in the near future.

EPF: Open Space Conservation and Land Acquisition

In 2022 the Legislature passed and Governor Hochul signed the landmark “30 by 30” law, which commits the State to protecting 30% of the State’s lands and inland waters by 2030.  PROTECT issued a report that documented all currently protected lands in the State and concluded that the State will need to protect approximately 3 million additional acres to meet the statutory goal. The State recently released its final 30 by 30 report showing that over 2 million acres of land need to be protected, and far more than that needs permanent protection.

Additional funding for open space conservation projects and land protection is necessary to acquire and preserve the millions of acres of lands and waters of the State needed to reach the 30 by 30 goal and protect priority lands such as the 36,000-acre Whitney Park property in the heart of the Adirondacks. PROTECT has been urging the Governor and the Legislature to increase EPF funding for Open Space and Land Acquisition to $50 million. The Governor’s Executive Budget’s proposed $42 million in EPF funding for Open Space and Land Conservation. The Senate and the Assembly proposals increased funding for Open Space and Land Acquisition ($44 million and $53 million, respectively) above the $42 million proposed by the Governor.

Somehow the adopted State Budget includes only $32.5 million for Open Space Conservation and Land Acquisition, a drop of almost $10 million below last year’s budget and below what the Governor herself proposed for the budget. It is also far below the amounts that were proposed by the Senate and Assembly. Last year, the State Budget included $42 million for this funding. There is language in the State Budget authorizing, but not requiring, $12.5 million to be transferred from Sustainable Future Program to the EPF for land acquisition.

A drop in this funding means that the State is take a serious step away from protecting critically important lands and waters, including acquiring lands in the Adirondack Park to add to the Forest Preserve.

 

EPF funds for State Land Acquitision could be used to purchase the Whitney Park property

 

EPF: Stewardship Funding

The EPF includes essential funding for stewardship of State-owned lands to improve visitory safety and protect natural resources. These funds are used to maintain trails, construct new trails and provide access to State lands. Last year, $50 million was allocated to stewardship funding and we urged the Governor and Legislature to include at least that much for funding this year. The final adopted State Budget includes only $40 million for stewardship funding. This $10 million drop in funding will reduce the amount of work that can be undertaken to maintain and construct trails across the State.

Fortunately, the final State Budget includes a specific line item with $10 million of stewardship funding for Adirondack and Catskill visitor safety and wilderness protection. Additionally, there is lanugage in the State Budget authorizing but not requiring, $12.5 million to be transferred from Sustainable Future Program to the EPF for stewardship purposes.

The final budget includes a reallocation of $1 million for the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to conduct a carrying capacity study of the heavily used Saranac Chain of Lakes. Although $1 million for this study was included in last year’s State budget, the funds were not expended by DEC during the fiscal year. A carrying capacity is required by the State Land Master Plan to guide DEC’s and APA’s management and oversight of recreational use and private land projects on these bodies of water. We filed a lawsuit to require DEC to undertake the study.

EPF: Science and Research

The final State Budget includes $200,000 for the Adirondack Watershed Institute at Paul Smith’s College, which conducts water quality monitoring and invasive species management throughout the Adirondack Park, as well as $200,000 for the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center at Whiteface Mountain Field Station.

The State Budget also includes $1 million for the four visitor centers ($250,000 each) in the Adirondack and Catskill Parks, and $2 million for Survey of Climate Change and Adirondack Lake Ecosystems (SCALE) study. The State Budget includes $1.675 million for the Timbuctoo Institute. Additionally, $420,000 in funding has been allocated in the State Budget to Adirondack North Country Association for the Adirondack Diversity Initiative.

The State Budget includes $1,500,000 for the Climate and Applied Forestry Research Institute, a program of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, to support research and development of forestry and forest products.