5 Things You Need to Know Today | November Adirondack News
November 17, 2017
By: Dana Mancini - Adirondack Council Advocacy and Outreach Assistant
Adirondack News is a collection of the most current events taking place in New York’s Adirondack Park, a unique national treasure and legacy we inherited over 100 years ago, that we have to protect for future generations. Adirondack News aims to highlight both threats and opportunities concerning the Park’s ecological integrity, wild character and community vibrancy.
New York State voters approve the Health and Safety Land Bank
On November 7, voters approved a constitutional amendment to create a Health and Safety Land Bank. The amendment and related legislation will give towns and villages “a little wiggle room” for maintaining roads, bridges and utilities within the Forest Preserve under strict guidelines administered by the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Strong voter turnout soundly defeats Constitutional Convention
New Yorkers were strong in their opinions this past Election Day. While we believed the constitutional convention would be a close call, the proposal was soundly defeated with 83 percent of voters in opposition to the convention. The constitutional convention posed a threat to the “Forever Wild” clause that protects the Adirondack Park
Gov.Cuomo opposes storing decaying rail cars in the Adirondacks
Last month, a railroad company announced its plan to store up to 2,000 decaying tanker cars on a rail line that runs near the Hudson and Boreas Rivers inside the Adirondack Park. Dozens of tankers have already arrived and more are on their way. The Council and other environmental groups are praising Governor Cuomo for opposig the storage of these takers cars in the Park. The Governor called these cars unsightly and out of character with the Adirondacks, and vowed to do everything in his power to stop the storage of these cars on this rail line. Photo: Brendan Wiltse
DEC makes first moves to address High Peaks safety concerns
The Department of Environmental Conservation is accepting comments on its proposed changes to the Unit Management Plan for the Sentinel Range Wilderness. The draft proposes moving the trailhead of Pitchoff Mountain to address parking concerns along State Route 73. This comes at the end of one of the busiest summers in the High Peaks Wilderness. On any given day, cars lined up and down Route 73 and at major trailheads as the number of people recreating in the Park continues to increase.
New Jersey vows to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
New Jersey Governor-elect Phil Murphy has vowed to immediately re-enroll the state in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), declaring that the state needs to reduce pollution, increase efficiency and improve air quality. There are currently nine states that are part of RGGI, and the efforts of the program greatly help to protect the Adirondack Park from acid rain.
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