The Adirondack Council

News Release

For more information:
John F. Sheehan
518-432-1770

Released, Monday, June 16, 2003

ALBANY, NY - Both chairmen of the NYS Legislature's Environmental Conservation Committees have reached agreement on bills that would help prevent the spread of invasive, non-native plant and animal species in New York's waters.

The Adirondack Council praised the sponsors and urged the Legislature to pass the bills and send them to Gov. George Pataki before the current session ends.

The bills would require the installation of signs at boat launches instructing boaters how to avoid bringing unwanted, new species into the lake, as well as how to avoid spreading invasive species that are already found in the lake to other waterbodies boaters visit. A second bill would create a special state task force to recommend the best methods for controlling exotic species in an environmentally sound manner.

"We are very pleased to see that both of these bills are sponsored by Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli and Senator Carl Marcellino," said Adirondack Council Executive Director Brian L. Houseal. "Both have proposed excellent legislation and both are the chairmen of the Environmental Conservation Committees in their houses. Each has the will and the clout to turn these bills into laws.

"The bill calling for new signs at boat launches," Houseal said of A.4078a/S.4520a, "will help prevent accidental spreading of plants and animals in boat bilges, motor cooling water and trailers that aren't thoroughly cleaned before being moved from one lake to another. If boaters don't know there is an environmentally dangerous plant or animal in the waters they are visiting, they have no reason to think they are causing harm by not cleaning their boats and trailers before moving on to their next destination.

"In places where infestations are already causing environmental harm, the state needs to create effective control plans that don't rely on toxic chemicals and other drastic measures that can cause more environmental harm than good," Houseal noted, adding that the task force (A.6988a/S.3522a) would include representatives from the Adirondack Park Agency and the Department of Environmental Conservation, both of whom voted recently to reject a plan to use a chemical herbicide to curb Eurasian watermilfoil in Lake George. Instead, the agencies encouraged the increased use of already proven, non-toxic control methods. The DEC holds a seat on the APA's Board of Commissioners.

"They found that the damage chemical herbicides would cause to non-target, native species was too high in Lake George," he said. "The agencies essentially adopted an integrated pest management plan that uses toxic chemical controls only as a last resort. Those are the kinds of solutions New York needs to adopt if we are to control the spread of harmful plants and animals without killing important native species, including those on the state's rare, threatened and endangered species list."

The Adirondack Council is an 18,000-member not-for-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the natural character and ecological integrity of the Adirondack Park.