The globally unique Adirondack Park is poised for change—either for good or for ill—according to the Adirondack Council’s State of the Park report for 2015.

Much depends on the political leadership of Governor Andrew Cuomo, said Adirondack Council Executive Director William Janeway.

Changes that are good for clean water, wildlife, wilderness and communities are necessary to insure the park’s future, he said. 

“The park’s most difficult problems affect both the environment and the economy. They include… the continuing battle against invasive species infestations and the long-standing need to update the rules for siting new homes on the park’s backcountry lands,” Janeway said.

Cuomo has been favoring creative solutions that accompany a new spirit of cooperation among formerly conflicting Adirondack stakeholders, according to Janeway.

Thanks to an improved economy and strong leadership from the governor, the state is poised—and able—to make a legacy investment and legislative and policy updates to secure the future of the Adirondack Park, he said.

“Heading into 2016, the Governor has an opportunity to help state, local and environmental leaders reach new agreements that are good for the park’s environment, its residents and its visitors,” Janeway said.

The Adirondack Council’s report lauds the acquisition of new wilderness lands, better wildlife management planning and restoration of 36 environmental staff positions.

The recent state budget was gnerally “pro-Adirondack,” including a three-year, $200-million grant program for clean water infrastructure, according to the report.

Still, the report’s authors frowned on the offsetting of an Environmental Protection Fund increase by a raid in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

Many other important Adirondack initiatives stalled in 2015, according to Janeway.

These include efforts to modernize the Adirondack Park Agency’s regulation for clear-cutting to better reflect current standards and best management practices for sustainable intensive timber management.

The governor and legislature accomplished very little beyond the budget, according to Janeway.

Progress was slowed by political pressure to expand motorized recreation in inappropriate locations and to undo some of the State Constitution’s protections for the “forever wild” Forest Preserve, he said.

“While it’s important to recognize both the progress and setbacks from 2015, the focus should be on the opportunity to move ahead,” Janeway said.

Janeway said he would like the governor, legislative leaders and others to enact permanent comprehensive solutions to invasive species infestations, off-road vehicle damage, expansion of clear-cutting, and ill-advised development subdivisions in remote locations.

“Will under-funded state agencies including the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) and Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) regain some of the budgets they need to better promote and manage the park while protecting it from harm [in 2016]?” he said.

The coming year will be a momentous one, promising an opportunity for the state to acquire tens of thousands of acres in the Adirondacks, Janeway said.

Grants will be available to communities for clean-water infrastructure, expanded recreation and access, community connector trails, hut-to-hut lodging and green projects that will boost the economies and vibrancy of local communities.

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State of the Park is the most comprehensive, non-partisan, annual review of the health and vitality of any park in the United States. The 24-page, illustrated report covers the decisions and actions of local, state and federal officials that helped or harmed the park.  Released each fall since 1986, this year’s edition provides brief summaries and critiques of more than 95 substantial Adirondack issues. It is available online at www.AdirondackCouncil.org and includes recommendations for 2016.

In its “Tip of the Hat” section, the Adirondack Council gives credit to some of the other not-for-profit organizations and individuals whose work advanced environmental protection and helped to show that people and nature can thrive together.

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The Adirondack Park is a national treasure, managed by the State of New York.

It is the largest park in the contiguous United States, at more than 9,300 square miles (six million acres).  It protects the sources of most of the state’s major rivers including the Hudson River, and is the world’s largest, intact, temperate, deciduous forest.  It contains nearly 90 percent of the never-logged forest and motor-free Wilderness remaining in the Northeast.

The park hosts 10 million annual visitors, as well as 130,000-year-round residents.  Unlike national parks, it contains 130 permanent communities, 10 of which are incorporated villages.

The Adirondack Council is the largest conservation advocacy organization dedicated to the Adirondacks. The Council is an independent, privately funded, not-for-profit organization.

The Council’s mission is to ensure the ecological integrity and wild character of the Adirondack Park. The Council envisions an Adirondack Park comprised of large, core Wilderness areas, surrounded by working forests and farms and vibrant local communities. The Adirondack Council carries out its mission through research, education, advocacy and legal action. Council members live in all 50 United States.

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John F. Sheehan

Director of Communications

The Adirondack Council

Defenders of the East’s Greatest Wilderness

518-432-1770 office

518-441-1340 cell

518-456-4512 home

Twitter: JohnSheehanAC

Facebook: John Sheehan

LinkedIn: John Sheehan

jsheehan@adirondackcouncil.org

www.adirondackcouncil.org