The NYS Legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul have approved a state budget that boosts the Environmental Protection Fund by $25 million to a record level of $425 million, while also providing $500 million for municipal clean water projects/septic system replacement, funding for a comprehensive study of climate impacts on Adirondack lake ecosystems, and a new recreation carrying-capacity study for the popular Saranac Chain of Lakes. Adirondack history and diversity efforts have also been given a boost.
“The Adirondack Council is particularly pleased to see the approval of $2 million for a new African-American exhibit at the Adirondack Experience [ADX, formerly the Adirondack Museum], and critical funding for the groundbreaking environmental education program, The Timbuctoo Institute, remain intact,” Council Executive Director Raul J. Aguirre said.
The Timbuctoo Institute links high school students from the greater NYC Metro area to the Adirondacks for two weeks in the summer to learn about careers in climate science, conservation, resource management, and wilderness protection. The program is a collaborative effort between CUNY’s Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Newcomb.
The budget agreement would also resolve a long-standing request by the state’s Forest Rangers for similar retirement benefits to other law enforcement officers who are allowed to retire after 20 years of service. This change would shorten the retirement term for Forest Rangers from 25 years to 20 and remove the age cap of 60 years old.
The Governor had twice vetoed stand-alone legislation that would have given rangers retirement parity with State Police.
In the enhanced Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) portion of the budget, the state is providing capital funding for:
- $42 million for open space protection
- $50.075 million for state land stewardship
- $18.55 million for invasive species prevention/eradication
- $2 million for the Survey of Climate and Adirondack Lake Ecosystems
- $1.25 million in the State Budget for Timbuctoo Institute, plus $425,000 in state operations funding to the State University of New York for this year’s program to Timbuctoo as well
- $10 million for Adirondack/Catskill Visitor Safety and Wilderness Protection
- $250,000 for each of the visitor centers (Paul Smiths, SUNY ESF Newcomb, ADK Loj, Catskill Center)
The carrying-capacity study funded for the Saranac Chain of Lakes will give the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) both the means and the mandate to determine how much recreational use can occur before it impacts natural ecosystems. This is an important task for an agency that must decide whether to approve development permit requests for marinas, boat launch parking lots, and trailhead parking lots, Aguirre said.
Carrying capacity studies would provide the science the APA needs to make informed decisions, he said. The agency has avoided undertaking carrying capacity studies, citing a lack of funds.
The budget also held the Adirondack Diversity Initiative funding steady at $420,000 and the APA received $10 million for a new headquarters (in addition to the $29 million already appropriated for that purpose).
Hochul and state legislative leaders have said they are likely return to session later this year due to uncertainty related to Trump regime cuts.
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