Nature Conservancy,
Open Space Institute, and
Adirondack Council Applaud Senators Clinton and Schumer for Senate
Forest Legacy $2.5 Million for Tahawus
Released, Thursday, September
16, 2004
Albany, NY, -- The Open Space
Institute, The Nature Conservancy and the Adirondack Council
applaud U.S. Senators Hilary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer
for working with Congressman John McHugh to secure, within the
Senate United States Forest Service Federal Forest Legacy FY'O5
budget appropriation bill, $2.5 million to help the State of
New York and the Open Space Institute protect the fabled 10,000-acre
Tahawus Tract in the Adirondacks.
The congressionally authorized
Forest Legacy program enables the Federal Government to work
with states and private landowners to enhance the management
of America's forest resources. A partnership between the Forest
Service, state governments and private landowners, the program
protects ecologically important forest habitat through the acquisition
of land and conservation easements, which protect working forests
while meeting important conservation goals.
The 10,000-acre Tahawus Tract
has long been a priority acquisition for New York State. Because
of its outstanding natural resources and historic value-Theodore
Roosevelt's famous "Midnight Ride to the Presidency"
began at Tahawus-the property and its long-term protection has
been championed by conservationists According to Open Space Institute
president, Joe Martens, Governor Pataki has been a keen supporter
of the Tahawus acquisition, which OSI acquired in 2003, and requested
Forest Legacy on behalf of New York State. Ultimately, OSI will
transfer the majority of the Tahawus Tract to the State of New
York.
Adjacent to the High Peaks Wilderness,
the tract includes Mount Adams, a popular hiking destination,
and the 450-acre Henderson Lake, where the headwaters of the
Hudson River are formed "If the Senate's Forest Legacy appropriation
is passed, the State of New York will have greater flexibility
to pursue its land acquisition goals in priority areas like the
High Peaks Wilderness. And that's great news for New Yorkers,"
said Martens. "Forest Legacy funding will play a critical
role in helping the State add approximately 6,000 acres of this
land to the Adirondack Forest Preserve while keeping more than
3,000 acres in working forest." Martens noted that federal
funding for the Tahawus Tract will be matched 3-to-1 by additional
funds from state, local and private sources.
Henry Tepper, director of The
Nature Conservancy of New York, said he "applauds the efforts
of Senators Clinton and Schumer to work with Congressman McHugh
to insert $2.5 million in the Senate budget for this project.
The Tahawus Tract is a prime candidate for Forest Legacy funding
because of its diverse natural resources. The Adirondacks harbor
some of the best remaining examples of hardwood forests, bogs,
lakes, rivers, alpine summits, and spruce-fir forests typical
of the 31-million-acre northern forest that spans New York, Vermont,
New Hampshire, Maine, and parts of southern Québec."
"The Tahawus tract adds to a larger protected landscape,
keeping important habitat unbroken. Appropriating $2.5 million
in Forest Legacy Funding toward this project is great for the
Adirondacks and terrific for New York State," Tepper continued.
"We are pleased that both
the House and Senate have decided to fund this worthy project,"
said Adirondack Council Executive Director Brian L. Houseal.
"Since 1988 we have been advocating for the protection of
the rare wildlife habitat and magnificent water bodies contained
on the Tahawus property, a key acquisition to complement the
High Peaks Wilderness. Now Congress must settle on an appropriate
dollar amount, which should be at least $2.5 million for this
once-in-a-lifetime addition to the Forest Preserve."
Log on to www.osiny.org
for more information about the Tahawus Tract and the Open Space
Institute's Northern Forest Protection Fund. Or visit www.nature.org
to learn about The Nature Conservancy, a worldwide science-based
conservation organization whose efforts in the Adirondacks alone
have led to the protection of more than 284,300 acres. The Adirondack
Council is the largest citizen environmental group in New York
State working full-time, on a daily basis in the Adirondack Park,
in the state capital and in Washington to preserve this six-million-acre
treasure.
The Open Space Institute is a non-profit land conservation organization
that protects significant recreational, environmental, agricultural
and historic landscapes. Founded in 1963, OSI has protected more
than 90,000 acres in New York State. Through its Northern Forest
Protection Fund, OSI has assisted in the protection of close
to 875,000 acres in NY, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. OSI's
recently launched New Jersey Conservation Loan Program has helped
protect more than 10,000 acres in the nation's most densely populated
state.
The Nature Conservancy is a leading international, non-profit
organization that preserves plants, animals and natural communities
representing the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the
lands and waters they need to survive. To date, the Conservancy
and its more than one million members have been responsible for
the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States
and have helped preserve more than 100 million acres in Latin
America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific.
The Adirondack Council is a not-for-profit environmental group
that has been working since 1975 to protect the open-space resources
of New York State's six-million-acre Adirondack Park and to help
sustain the natural and human communities of the region. Based
in the Adirondacks with a second office in Albany, the Adirondack
Council has a staff of 15 and a strong and vocal membership of
18,000.
|
