PRESERVING PURE WATERS
IN THE FACE OF RAPID DEVELOPMENT
IS FOCUS OF ADIRONDACK WATER QUALITY CONFERENCE
Conference Brings
Local Government, Residents, Shoreline Owners Together with
Professional Advisors Who Will Help Plan Economic Growth without
Pollution
For more information:
Scott Lorey, Legislative Director
518-432-1770 (ofc)
518-810-5766 (cell)
slorey@adirondackcouncil.org
Released, Monday, August 20, 2007
PAUL SMITHS, N.Y. - Adirondack
Park local government officials, residents and shoreline owners
will get together with professional planners, water quality experts
and environmental organizations at Paul Smith's College for two
days this week to discuss ways they can prevent water pollution
while accommodating economic development in the state's hottest
rural real estate market.
"Second home development in the Adirondacks is happening
faster than ever before and almost all of it is occurring on
the shorelines of the Park's lakes, ponds and rivers,"
said Brian Houseal, Executive Director of the Adirondack Council,
an environmental organization that has co-sponsored the annual
Adirondack Water Quality Conference at Paul Smith's since its
inception four years ago. "Some of the developments currently
under environmental review are very large and would have a huge
impact on local water quality.
"We are proud to be regular co-sponsors of this conference
and prouder still of how much good it has already done,"
Houseal said. "This is the fourth time in five years that
people from all over the Adirondacks, and all over New York State,
have come here to share information and techniques that apply
to any water-protection effort. I know that we have learned
a lot and other participants can't help but do the same."
"The 2005 conference spun-off great energies and actions
in the effort to control invasive species in the Adirondacks.
Similarly, the participants in this forum have the potential
to be a catalyst for positive changes that will protect Adirondack
waters from irresponsible development. Good water quality is
absolutely critical to the future success of the Park. We have
to keep trying to improve it. I am proud to be one of the organizers
of this year's conference", Jill Reymore, Saranac Waterkeeper.
"I am excited to be part of this conference which is a great
opportunity to exchange ideas and discuss concepts to help preserve
one of the most important characteristics of the Adirondacks
- its exceptional water quality," said Chris Navitsky, Lake
George WATERKEEPER.
"Every community in the park needs to face how growth affects
our waterways," said Dan Kelting, director of the Adirondack
Watershed Institute at Paul Smith's College. "We can come
up with a way to promote sustainable growth, though, and that's
the goal of this conference."
Examples of projects being discussed include the revitalization
of the Big Tupper ski area and the construction of a major resort
in North Creek. Some of the expected speakers include Jim Tierney,
assistant commissioner for water resources for the New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation; Charles Boylen, associate
director of the Darrin Freshwater Institute at Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute; Rebecca Schneider of Cornell University; and several
others.
Other conference organizers include a variety of not-for-profit
and state agencies, including the Department of Environmental
Conservation; Adirondack Park Agency (APA); Lake George Association;
and the Upper Saranac Lake Association, among others.
This is the fourth such conference sponsored by the watershed
institute. The most recent one in 2005, focused on halting the
spread of invasive species throughout the Adirondacks. That
event resulted in the proposal of an aquatic nuisance species
management plan that has been adopted by the Adirondack Park
Agency.
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