The Senate and Assembly have each proposed one-house budgets that provide funding for critical programs in the Adirondack Park!

The Executive Budget proposed by Governor Kathy Hochul on January 21, 2025 left a lot to be desired for the Adirondacks. Now, the Legislature, in their proposed one-house budgets have restored and increased funding for Adirondack programs that were left out of the Governor’s proposed budget. Thank you again to all those who came together in Albany during Adirondack Park Lobby Day in February 2025 to advocate for funding for the Adirondacks!

Protect the Adirondacks, Inc. (PROTECT) thanks the leadership in the Legislature, including Senate Majority Leader Andrew Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie, Senate Finance Chair Liz Krueger, Assembly Ways and Means Committee Chair Pretlow, and the Senate and Assembly Environmental Conservation Chairs Senator Harckham and Assembly Member Deborah Glick, for the funding in the FY2026 one-house budgets proposed by the Senate and Assembly. The proposed budgets from each house increase the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) by $100 million, restore and/or increase funding for Adirondack programs that were reduced or eliminated from the Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposed budget and include funding for several new initiatives that are crucial for the Adirondack Park.

Environmental Protection Fund – $500 Million

The Legislature has proposed an historic increase of the EPF to $500 million! This additional funding is needed for the Open Space and Land Acquisition and State Land Stewardship lines of the EPF to fund the addition of new lands to the Forest Preserve, and for the management and stewardship of existing Forest Preserve lands in the Adirondack Park.

This is a landmark increase that will serve to fund environmental initiatives across the State and are critical to maintaining and enhancing the State’s environmental quality in the face of reduced federal funding for the environment.

EPF Open Space and Land Acquisition

Both the Senate and the Assembly proposals ($58.7 million and $60 million, respectively) increase the amount of funding for Open Space and Land Acquisition above what was proposed by the Governor ($37.5 million). This increase is needed to put the State on track to achieve its goal of protecting 30% of the State’s lands and inland waters by 2030. 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 in order to reach the 30 by 30 goal the State will need to protect an additional 3.2 million acres over the next six years. Additional funding for open space protection is necessary to acquire and preserve the millions of acres of lands and waters of the State needed reach the 30 by 30 goal.

Whitney Park, pictured here, is a 36,000-acre parcel of land in the Adirondacks that is available and could be purchased with open space land protection funding.

EPF State Land Stewardship

The State Land Stewardship line in the EPF provides funds for the management and protection of millions of acres of State-owned lands, including the nearly 3 million acres of Forest Preserve lands in the Adirondack Park. The Executive Budget proposes $49 million for this account, which is a welcome increase over last year’s adopted budget amount of $47 million. Both the Senate and Assembly proposals ($61.3 million and $59 million) increase the amount of funding for State Land Stewardship above what was proposed by the Governor ($49 million). Additionally, both the Senate and Assembly proposals include $12 million for the management and stewardship of State lands in the Adirondack and Catskill Parks!

In addition, PROTECT is urging the State to earmark $1 million of the State Land Stewardship line (e.g., Adirondack and Catskill visitor safety and wilderness protection to address overuse) to fund a carrying capacity study of sensitive water bodies in the Adirondack Park. “Carrying capacity” means the ability of natural resources to withstand and sustain human activity and the environmental impacts resulting from those activities. In the case of waterbodies it means the impacts on water quality, fish and wildlife, scenic and aesthetic resources, and the user experience resulting from increasing boat traffic and conflicting visitor use. A carrying capacity study would examine these factors, evaluate whether and to what extent the carrying capacity has been exceeded, and recommend measures to avoid exceeding the carrying capacity and/or to return resources to an acceptable level that does not exceed the carrying capacity. Although the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan requires the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to conduct a carrying capacity study for each unit of Forest Preserve lands and waters in the Park, DEC has thus far failed to complete even one such study, citing budgetary constraints.

The Assembly’s one-house proposed budget includes $1 million for the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to conduct a carrying capacity study of the Saranac Chain of Lakes!

$1 million is needed for a carrying capacity study of water bodies in the Adirondack Park

 

EPF Water and Wildlife Research

Both the Senate and Assembly included $200,000 for the Adirondack Watershed Institute at Paul Smith’s College that conducts water quality monitoring and invasive species management throughout the Adirondack Park; $200,000 for the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center at Whiteface Mountain Field Station; and $3 million for Survey of Climate Change and Adirondack Lake Ecosystems (SCALE) study.

The Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI) at Paul Smith’s College in the Adirondack Park conducts a long-term (over twenty years) water quality monitoring program and conducts invasive species management throughout the Park. The Institute’s mission is to protect clean water, conserve habitat and support the health and well-being of people in the Adirondacks through scientific inquiry, stewardship and real-world experiences for students.

The Survey of Climate and Adirondack Lakes Ecosystems (SCALE) is a multi-year study of how climate change impacts waterbodies in the Adirondacks. SCALE researchers from Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the Ausable Freshwater Center and other academic partners are examining how climate change impacts baseline conditions of waterbodies, and exploring the relationships between climate change and harmful algae blooms, food webs, and mercury bioaccumulation. This data will inform future climate policymaking and guide strategic investment in greenhouse gas reduction and climate resiliency. The Executive Budget proposes $1.5 million for SCALE. This should be increased to $2.5 million to reflect the pressing problems facing the Adirondacks due to climate change.

Wildlife research in New York is heavily focused on game species because it is funded by hunting license revenues. As a result, Forest Preserve planners have little information about non-game wildlife populations on State lands. DEC is in the process of updating its Statewide Wildlife Action Plan, which is updated every 10 years, and DEC has inadequate data to support its efforts and to make science-based decisions. PROTECT supports the addition of $1 million to the EPF for non-game wildlife research by DEC.

PROTECT is urging the Legislature to add funding to the EPF for wildlife research on State lands, including funding to conduct a gray wolf status assessment.

The Assembly included $250,000 in the EPF for nongame wildlife research.

EPF Visitor Center Funding

The Legislature has proposed $1 million for the four visitor centers in the Adirondack and Catskill Parks.

We support funding Visitor Centers at $1 million, with $250,000 each for Paul Smith’s Visitor Interpretative Center (VIC); the SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) Adirondack Interpretative Center (AIC); the ADK High Peaks Information Center; and the Cascade Welcome Center.

We are grateful to the Legislature for restoring the EPF funding ($250,000) for the ADK High Peaks Information Center and the Cascade Welcome Center.

EPF Diversity Funding

The Legislature has proposed $2.1 million for the Timbuctoo Summer Climate and Careers Institute.

The Timbuctoo Summer Climate and Careers Institute is a program developed by the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) to introduce high school sophomores and juniors from New York City to climate science, provide career counseling, and address issues of access from an equity and justice perspective. In 2023, the Institute partnered with CUNY Medgar Evers College to bring 48 high school students to the Adirondacks for three two-week sessions. In 2024, 46 students from all five New York City Boroughs attended the program. We support funding this program at $2.1 million.

The Assembly’s one-house budget also included $2 million for the “African American Experience in the Adirondacks” exhibit at the Adirondack Experience in Blue Mountain Lake. The African-American Experience in the Adirondacks would be a major permanent exhibition dedicated to the untold story of African Americans and their experiences, past and present, in the Adirondacks.

Paul Hai, SUNY ESF discussing the Timbuctoo program

EPF Implementation of Salt Reduction Task Force Recommendations

In 2023, the Adirondack Road Salt Reduction Task Force released its report documenting the significant adverse groundwater and surface water pollution effects of the use of road salt in the Adirondack Park.  EPF funding is needed to implement the road salt reduction strategies identified in the Task Force’s report.

There does not appear to be any funding directly related to road salt reduction.

 

Clean Water Infrastructure Act

Funding provided under the Clean Water Infrastructure Act (CWIA) is essential to protecting Adirondack Park waters and to promoting new business and affordable housing in Adirondack Park communities. There is a great need for funding for clean water infrastructure projects to allow communities in the Adirondack Park to provide clean water to residents and visitors.  The current backlog of wastewater treatment plant and sewer system projects in Adirondack communities exceeds $200 million. In addition, failing private septic systems throughout the Park are compromising surface and groundwater quality. The CWIA’s Septic Replacement Fund provides funding to counties for financial assistance to homeowners who need to replace or upgrade failing septic systems.

This fund has historically received $500 million each year. PROTECT is urging the Legislature to provide $600 million for the Clean Water Infrastructure Act to assist both State-wide and Adirondack Park communities in addressing urgent and widespread clean water infrastructure needs. The Assembly proposed $600 million, and the Senate proposed $700 million, with $100 million dedicated to lead pipe replacement.