ADIRONDACK COUNCIL
SUPPORTS LEGISLATION TO INCREASE THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
FUND
Lauds the Effort of Legislature's Environmental Conservation
Committee Chairmen to Increase Land Protection Money
For more information:
John F. Sheehan
518-432-1770 (ofc)
518-441-1340 (cell)
518-456-4512 (home)
Released: Monday, January 9, 2006
ALBANY, NY - The largest Adirondack
environmental advocacy organization today lauded the announcement
of new legislation that would expand the Environmental Protection
Fund (EPF) to at least $300 million. Today's proposal was jointly
announced by Environmental Conservation Committee Chairs Senator
Carl Marcellino (R-Oyster Bay) and Assemblyman Tom DiNapoli (D-Great
Neck).
"Today's announcement is
exactly what the environmental community has been seeking for
several years," said Adirondack Council Executive Director
Brian L. Houseal. "The Governor and Legislature have been
great partners in seeing that the EPF has been sustained and
enhanced, even in some lean budget years, including adding $25
million to the Fund last year.
"Expanding the fund by this
amount means that many public land purchases and conservation
agreements on private lands projects for the Adirondacks will
now be possible," continued Houseal. "With the price
of land continuing to increase, and with the pace of development
increasing at an alarming rate, it is important that the EPF
also increases."
Houseal explained that some areas
of the Adirondack Park are experiencing increases in property
assessment of 400 percent and higher, especially near lake shores.
At the same time, the Adirondack Park Agency has been coping
with a huge increase in the number of applications for development
permits. The current pace of applications is higher than at any
time in the past 10 years.
The proposed legislation would
increase the amount of money that is directed into the EPF from
the Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT) over a number of years, eventually
reaching the $287 million level. The remaining $13 million come
from various sources, including interest, sale of The Conservationist
magazine and Bluebird license plates.
"The real estate market
is booming and open space is being lost forever. The money spent
from the EPF can help offset the impacts of new development and
preserve open spaces needed to maintain our quality of life,"
said Houseal. "This plan would set an unprecedented floor
for environmental protection, while ensuring that if pristine
land is being offered for sale, the state has a fighting chance
at protecting it.
"In addition to increasing
the funds for traditional programs like land protection and recycling,
an increase of this magnitude would also allow for some new programs
to be added that would meet the purposes of the Fund," continued
Houseal. "One such example would be $10 million to combat
the growing ecological threat of invasive species across New
York, particularly in the Adirondack Park."
"Unlike most of the rest
of the state, the Adirondack Park still contains vast areas where
no invasive species have been found," Houseal said. "We
need to protect them from invasions by aggressive non-natives,
which means preventing the fragmentation of our largest private
forests by development and highway construction. Roads, houses
and other breaks in the forest are the places where invasives
take hold, and spread."
The EPF was created by the Legislature in 1993 to help fund numerous
projects that lacked a dedicated funding source. Since that time,
the EPF has grown from $30 million to $150 million. Over $1.3
billion has been appropriated in total to the Open Space, Parks
and Solid Waste Programs.
The Adirondack Council is an
18,000 member, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to
ensure the ecological integrity and wild character of the Adirondack
Park. The Council carries out that mission through research,
education, advocacy and legal action.
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