NYS Budget Must Include Funding for Catskill, Adirondack Forest Preserves
The Catskill Center joins with ADK (Adirondack Mountain Club) in calling on NYS legislators to dedicate at least $10 million of the Environmental Protection Fund’s (EPF) State Land Stewardship funding to the Catskill Park and Adirondack Park for trail building, educational outreach, inclusivity, accessibility, sanitation facilities, parking, planning, signage, and to implement the recommendations of the Catskills Strategic Planning Advisory Group (CAG) and the High Peaks Strategic Planning Advisory Group (HPAG).
On February 10, Senator Michelle Hinchey and Assemblymember Chris Tague from the Catskills, and Senator Dan Stec and Assemblymember Matt Simpson from the Adirondacks, spoke with the Catskill Center’s Jeff Senterman and the ADK’s Michael Barrett about issues of the Forest Preserve Parks. Together, they discussed the importance of these lands and how the state can better support them with funding.
The Adirondacks and Catskills together represent more than 6.5 million acres, almost a quarter of New York State. Nearly 3 million acres of public Forest Preserve lands within the parks are managed as wild forests by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). As such, they do not receive the same funding as other state parks.
This year, Governor Kathy Hochul acknowledged the need for funding for the Forest Preserve Parks in her State of the State Address, and, within the historic $400 million Environmental Protection Fund of the Executive Budget Proposal, she increased the State Land Stewardship Line to $50 million for stewardship activities across the State (an increase from about $35 million in last year’s final budget).
Please send a letter to your State Senator and Assemblymember to help ensure that at least $10 million of the EPF’s State Land Stewardship funding is dedicated to the Catskill and Adirondack Parks.
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