EPF Rises, Clean Water Funds Hold Steady,
Timbuctoo Institute Begins Move to SUNY Budget, Funds for Lake Carrying Capacity Study;
ADKX Funded for African American Exhibit; Rangers Gain Retirement Equity
Thursday, May 8, 2025
ABANY, N.Y. – The NYS Legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul are poised to approve a state budget that boosts the Environmental Protection Fund by $25 million to a record level of $425 million, while also providing $500 million for municipal clean water projects/septic system replacement, funding for a comprehensive study of climate impacts on Adirondack lake ecosystems, and a new recreation carrying-capacity study for the popular Saranac Chain of Lakes.
“In a time of deep financial uncertainty, this budget reinforces the importance of a healthy environment and the need to protect critical natural areas such as the Adirondack Park,” said Adirondack Council Executive Director Raul J. Aguirre. “We thank Governor Hochul, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins for their efforts, as well EnCon Committee Chairs Senator Pete Harckham and Assemblymember Deborah Glick for their steadfast efforts to complete these negotiations.
This budget agreement enhances wilderness protection, preserves innovative environmental education programming, and ensures clean air and water data collection efforts remain in effect in the Adirondacks and across New York State.”
“The Adirondack Council is particularly pleased to see the approval of $2 million for a new African-American exhibit at the Adirondack Experience (Museum), and critical funding for the groundbreaking environmental education program, The Timbuctoo Institute, remain intact.,” he said “The Timbuctoo Institute links high school students from the greater NYC Metro area to the Adirondacks for two weeks in the summer to learn about careers in climate science, conservation, resource management, and wilderness protection.”
This program is a collaborative effort between CUNY’s Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Newcomb.
The budget agreement would also resolve a long-standing request by the state’s Forest Rangers for retirement benefits similar to those of other law enforcement officers who are allowed to retire after 20 years of service. This important change would shorten the retirement term for Forest Rangers from 25 years to 20 and remove the age cap of 60 years old. The Governor had twice vetoed stand-alone legislation that would have given Rangers retirement parity with state police.
In the enhanced Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) portion of the budget, the state is providing capital funding for:
- $42 million for open space protection.
- $50.075 million for state land stewardship.
- $18.55 million for invasive species prevention/eradication.
- $2 million for the Survey of Climate and Adirondack Lake Ecosystems.
- $1.25 million in the State Budget for Timbuctoo Institute, plus $425,000 in state operations funding to the State University of New York for this year’s program to Timbuctoo.
- $10 million for Adirondack/Catskill Visitor Safety and Wilderness Protection.
- $250,000 for each of the visitor centers (Paul Smiths, SUNY ESF Newcomb, ADK Loj, Catskill Center).
The carrying-capacity study funded for the Saranac Chain of Lakes would give the Adirondack Park Agency both the means and the mandate to determine how much recreational use can occur before it impacts natural ecosystems. Aguirre said this is an important task for an agency that must decide whether to approve development permit requests for marinas, boat launch parking lots, and trailhead parking lots.
He said carrying capacity studies would provide the science the APA needs to make informed decisions. However, the agency has avoided undertaking them, citing a lack of funds.
In other corners of the budget:
-The Adirondack Diversity Initiative held steady at $420,000 in the Aid to Localities portion of the budget.
-The Adirondack Park Agency received $10 million for a new headquarters (in addition to the $29 million already appropriated for that purpose).
Established in 1975, the Adirondack Council is a privately funded, not-for-profit environmental advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring the ecological integrity and wild character of the Adirondack Park. The 9,300-square-mile Adirondack Park is one of the largest intact temperate forest ecosystems left in the world. The Adirondacks are home to about 130,000 New York residents in 130 rural communities.
The Council carries out its mission through research, education, advocacy and legal action. The Council envisions a Park with clean water and clean air, core wilderness areas, farms and working forests, and vibrant, diverse, welcoming, safe communities.
For more information: John Sheehan, Director of Communications, 518-441-1340