The Adirondack Park is awaiting action from Governor Kathy Hochul on several important decisions including the fate of legislation designed to protect wildlife from automobiles and her appointees to the Adirondack Park Agency’s board, according to a preview of the Adirondack Council’s annual State of the Park Report.
The 43rd Edition of State of the Park is due out next week, the theme “Poised for Action,” reflecting both a desire for the Governor to act and the need for the Adirondack Council to increase advocacy efforts on multiple fronts in the year ahead.
“In 2025, the Adirondack Council will celebrate 50 years advocating for the protection of the ecological integrity and wild character of the Adirondack Park,” said Adirondack Council Executive Director Raul J. Aguirre. “This milestone anniversary is an important opportunity to reflect on partnerships and past successes, new and emerging threats to the Park, and providing perspective on the evolving challenges we face today as well as the continued importance of our mission.
“Critical legislation still awaiting the Governor’s attention includes the Wildlife Crossings Act, which aims to prevent collisions between wildlife and automobiles by redesigning road crossings to make wildlife passage safer, rather than just putting up signs warning drivers to slow down,” said Aguirre.
“If Gov. Kathy Hochul signs the bill, it would qualify New York to receive federal funds to assist in this effort in 10 locations right away. We hope the success of those new crossings will bring additional funding for additional locations.”
Aguirre said the full State of the Park Report would also praise the Governor’s funding for clean water initiatives, including both municipal grants to Adirondack communities to build new infrastructure and newly expanded funding to protect lakes and rivers by repairing and replacing faulty septic systems.
Funding had been limited to about a dozen lakes inside the Adirondack Park, but has been expanded to include more than 100 water bodies and their tributaries in six counties.
The full State of the Park Report is a detailed review of the key decisions made by local, state and federal officials affecting the Adirondacks over the past year. Each decision is summarized and rated with a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” on specific issues of importance to the Adirondack Park or greater North Country region.
The full report contains sections on the Governor, Legislature, Adirondack Park Agency, Department of Environmental Conservation, Attorney General, Courts, Federal Government, and Local Government. It’s expected to be released on Tuesday, October 8.
The full report also reveals 14 actions by individuals and other non-government organizations in its “In the Spotlight” section. State of the Park will be available for free on the Adirondack Council’s website.
The main report explains and critiques more than 85 key decisions made by officials in all levels of government.
In addition to praise, the Governor also receives criticism in the report for again failing to appoint new members to the Adirondack Park Agency. All eight citizen members of the 11-member APA board are serving on expired terms.
Some of the harshest criticism in the report is reserved for the Supreme Court of the United States, which refused to enforce the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “Good Neighbor” policy that is supposed to prevent smokestacks in one state from causing a health hazard in a neighboring state.
“The Supreme Court told Kentucky, West Virginia, Arkansas and others that their coal-fired smokestacks can continue to produce high levels of particulate matter that cause smog and acid rain in the Adirondacks, at least until a lower court can determine whether the EPA’s rules ought to be upheld,” said John F. Sheehan, the Council’s spokesman and Clean Air Specialist.
“A week later, the Supreme Court essentially told all lower courts in their reversal of Chevron USA vs. Natural Resources Defense Council that they could ignore EPA’s expertise in matters such as air pollution. That reverses 40 years of precedents in state and federal cases, and will have long-term impacts as it undermines the authority of agency experts to bring factual data and analysis to bear in legal proceedings on all manner of pollution cases.”
The Adirondack Park consists of both public and private lands, covering one-fifth of New York State. It contains more than three million acres of protected forests. Unlike many other parks, it also contains 130 small, rural communities. Its 11,000 lakes and ponds, thousands of miles of navigable river and 30,000 miles of brooks and streams are the source waters for most of New York’s rivers.
Established in 1975, the Adirondack Council is a privately funded, not-for-profit environmental advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring the ecological integrity and wild character of the Adirondack Park. The 9,300-square-mile Park is one of the largest intact temperate forest ecosystems left in the world and is home to about 123,000 New York residents in 130 rural communities.
The Council carries out its mission through research, education, advocacy and legal action. The Council supports a Park with clean water and clean air, core wilderness areas, farms and working forests, and vibrant, diverse, welcoming, safe communities.
Illustrations from above: New York State Capitol; DEC Septic System Funds (Adirondack Council); and the Good Neighbor Plan map (EPA).
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