The Adirondack Council

News Release

Released, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2001

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Adirondack Council is one of only 10 environmental organizations in the United States to be invited to a special air pollution "stakeholder meeting" tomorrow (Thursday) at the request of U.S. Sens. James Jeffords and Bob Smith, the chairman and former chairman of the Senate committee on the environment and public works.

"We are honored to be called to this meeting," said Adirondack Council Acting Executive Director Bernard C. Melewski. "We are by no means the largest organization invited, but our 25-year fight against acid rain has made us almost synonymous with the cause. We expect acid rain to be center-stage at the meeting, since it is the one thing that all of the stakeholders at the table agree must be addressed."

Melewski noted that the meeting of 25 representatives from environmental organizations, power companies and trade associations in Washington, D.C. was originally scheduled for the morning of Sept. 11. The meeting convened long enough for everyone in the room to receive a "position paper" from the other participants, outlining their hopes for new clean air legislation.

When news of the World Trade Center attack spread to the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Senator Jeffords thanked everyone for coming but said the meeting would have to be rescheduled. Minutes later, the third plane hit the Pentagon and public safety officials began evacuating the Senate office building.

"From what was handed out at the last meeting, we have a pretty good sense of what everyone is hoping to accomplish," Melewski said. "While there seems to be some difference of opinion on other topics, everyone at the meeting, including the power companies, wanted to see cuts in emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides sufficient to stop acid rain.

"We hope to impress upon the Senate the need for rapid action to stop the destruction acid rain has wrought on the Adirondack Park and the entire East Coast," Melewski said. "We want them to know that we aren't just trying to save lakes and trees. Acid rain strikes at the heart of our tourism economy and threatens the livelihoods of our Park residents. In that respect, we know Senator Jeffords realizes that the Adirondacks and Vermont are inextricably linked."

The meeting is slated for October 4 and 5. While the media isn't invited to the meetings, there will be as many as 100 observers of the discussion from organizations, state governments and corporations across the United States.

"We are very pleased that this meeting has been rescheduled," said Melewski. "We commend Senators Jeffords and Smith for refusing to be distracted from this vital issue by the attacks of September 11. Their courage helps us all to refocus and reaffirm our resolve to move forward. The Adirondack Park is a place of hope, refuge and renewal for all Americans. Its pristine forests and the natural beauty of its lakes and rivers must not be spoiled by acid rain."

Adirondack Damage
The Adirondack Park is the hardest-hit region in the United States with regard to acid rain damage. More than 500 of the Park's 2,800 lakes and ponds are now too acidic to support their native life. High-elevation spruce/fir forests are disappearing rapidly from the Park's mountain slopes. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that by 2040, half of the Park's lakes and ponds will be critically acidified (in essence, dead).

Vermont Damage
Recent studies also confirmed that Vermont's spruce/fir forests on the slopes of the Green Mountains are suffering a similar fate, while the state's world-famous sugar maples are losing their ability to reproduce.

The Adirondack Council is an 18,000-member, privately funded, not-for-profit organization dedicated to protecting and enhancing the natural character and human communities of the Adirondack Park through research, education, advocacy and legal action.