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For more information:
John F. Sheehan, Communications Director
518-432-1770 (w)
518-441-1340 (cell)

Released, Wednesday, August 18, 2004

ALBANY, NY - The Adirondack Council filed a petition in U.S. District Court here today seeking to become a party to a lawsuit brought by Canadian Pacific Rail against the Park's state-run zoning authority, the Adirondack Park Agency.

"Defending the Adirondack Park against harmful development was the reason the Adirondack Council was founded in 1975," said Adirondack Council Executive Director Brian L. Houseal. "The outcome of CP Rail's lawsuit will have long-term impacts in every corner of the Park. If the company succeeds in avoiding an APA review for the construction of communications towers along its rail line, we could see towers sprouting up over more than 500 miles of existing rail road rights-of-way in 11 of the Park's 12 counties."

CP Rail of Calgary, Alberta, filed suit against the APA on July 18, after the APA issued a cease-and-desist order, stopping construction at four proposed tower sites within the Adirondack Park. The company had already installed a 150-foot-tall tower in the hamlet of Whallonsburg, in Essex County, and was completing an identical tower in Port Kent, in Clinton County. Two more were planned for Crown Point, in Essex County, and Dresden, in Washington County.

The company claims that the towers are needed for the operation of the rail road and therefore are exempt from APA review under federal law. In general, the APA has jurisdiction over any building that exceeds 40 feet in height, regardless of its location within the Park.

"The Adirondack Council believes that the Adirondack Park's scenic beauty deserves special protection under the federal rules for rail roads," Houseal said. "New Yorkers have spent more than 110 years - and millions of dollars - protecting the Park's natural character. That investment and legacy would be wiped out if CP Rail wins the right to build whatever it wants."

The Adirondack Council's mission is to ensure the ecological integrity and wild character of the Adirondack Park. The Council is a privately funded, not-for-profit organization that carries out its mission through research, education, advocacy and legal action.

NOTE: An electronic copy of the attached political cartoon can be obtained by contacting the Adirondack Council's Albany office at 518-432-1770, which will grant reproduction rights over the phone or in writing.