The Senate and Assembly have each proposed one-house budgets that provide critical programs in the Adirondack Park
The FY27 Executive Budget proposed by Governor Kathy Hochul includes funding for many programs and initiatives for the Adirondacks, but some have been left out and some have not been funded at the levels that they were in the last fiscal year budget. Protect the Adirondacks, Inc. (PROTECT), along with several other Adirondack organizations, have been advocating for State funding for important Adirondacks programs and initiatives throughout the Adirondack Park. Our letter to the Governor is here. Since the Governor’s budget proposal was released, we have been urging the Legislature to restore funding for Adirondack programs that were reduced or eliminated from the Governor proposed budget. In January, we testified before the the State Legislature about our funding requests (our testimony is available here).
PROTECT’s applauds the New York State Senate and Assembly for the recently released one-house budget proposals that provide strong funding for the Adirondack Park in their FY2027. Both proposals increase the Environmental Protection Fund and restore and/or enhance support for several Adirondack programs that were reduced or eliminated from the Governor’s proposed budget.
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 includes $425 million for the EPF. 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 exceeds this amount. Accordingly, we continue to urge the Governor and Legislature to strive to increase EPF funding to $500 million in the near future.
Both houses of the State Legislature propose increasing the EPF to $500 million for FY2027. If adopted, this would represent a historic level of funding for environmental initiatives across New York State. Robust EPF funding is essential to maintaining and enhancing the State’s environmental quality.
EPF Open Space 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. 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 and protect priority lands such as the 36,000-acre Whitney Park property in the heart of the Adirondacks. The Executive Budget’s EPF funding for Open Space and Land Conservation proposes $42 million. PROTECT is urging the Legislature to increase EPF funding for Open Space and Land Acquisition to $50 million.
The Senate and the Assembly proposals increase funding for Open Space and Land Acquisition ($44 million and $53 million, respectively) above the $42 million proposed by the Governor. This funding is important for protecting the State’s 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 and Science
The EPF includes essential funding for stewardship of State-owned lands to improve visitory safety and protect natural resources, and for research projects across the Adirondack Park. The Senate’s one house budget proposal includes $12 million of stewardship funding for Adirondack and Catskill visitor safety and wilderness protection, while the Governor’s proposal includes $8 million.
The Senate, Assembly, and Governor Hochul’s proposals each include $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.
The laboratory at the Adirondack Watershed Institute at Paul Smith’s College is the only lab in the Adirondack Park to have certification through the New York State Department of Health’s Environmental Laboratory Approval Program
Both the Senate and Assembly proposals include $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 Governor’s proposal did not include funding for either of these important research programs.
The Legislature is also proposing $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 Senate proposed $2.1 million for the Timbuctoo Institute, while the Assembly proposed $1.25 million for that program. Additionally, the Senate proposed $420,000 for the Adirondack Diversity Initiative, compared to $300,000 in the Assembly proposal.
PROTECT thanks Senate Majority Leader Andrew Stewart-Cousins, Senate Finance Chair Liz Krueger, Senate Environmental Conservation Chair Pete Harckham, Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie, Assembly Ways and Means Committee Chair J. Gary Pretlow, and Assembly Environmental Conservation Chair Deborah Glick for their outstanding leadership in ensuring funding of crucial Adirondack Park programs.
