Are our state's beautiful public places, such as Lake Awosting at Minnewaska State Park Preserve, about to be made off-limits to the public?
May 28: Deal Keeps Parks Open at Expense of New York Environment
On the eve of the Memorial Day weekend kick-off to the unofficial summer season, legislators and the governor, under intense public pressure to keep state parks open, announced a deal to do just that.
State Parks will get the $11 million needed to keep them open. That's the good news, and it was achieved by thousands of citizens-including Trail Conference members-- telling their representatives to protect our parks.
The bad news is that in exchange, the Environmental Protection Fund, which pays for land, water, and air protection measures across the state, will be reduced to $134 million from the $222 million it was at in 2009/10. This disproportionately large cut of almost 40% comes on top of the nearly $500 million that has been swept from the EPF in recent years, and which has created a significant backlog of unfunded projects, straining organizations, municipalities and others partnering with the state on environmental programs.
The Trail Conference supports State Parks AND the EPF and we will continue to do so. We welcome and thank you for your continued support.
May 19:
Legislators Move to Keep Parks Open
Legislation has been
introduced, sponsored by Senator Serrano (S.7776-A) and Assemblyman Englebright (A.11013-A), that would require the State Parks agency
to maintain operations funding at the same level as last year. This would
allow all parks to open until a 2010 state budget is passed. The bill is on the Senate floor, but is still in the Assembly Ways
& Means Committee.
Please take a few minutes to contact your Senator and Assembly member now and urge them to support this
legislation.
May 17: State Begins Closing Parks, Reducing Park Services
More than a month after the start of the 2010-11 fiscal year, with no agreement on a budget yet in place, the state began closing 37 parks and 14 historic sites listed as targets in mid-February, and reducing services at others. Click here to see the list of affected parks in our region.(Four parks slated for closing among 41 originally targeted will be kept open by private donations or county investment.) Click here for full official list of targeted parks.
March 22: Senate May Vote on Budget Today
Our colleagues at Parks & Trails New York reported that the NYS Senate may vote on the budget today. Call your senator now. Find contact info below.
March 12: Your Voice Still Needed for Parks
Budget negotiations continue in Albany. Keep up the pressure on your representatives. Use the links below to find their contact info; also below is a sample letter.
Save Our Parks Lobby Day Planned for March 3 in Albany
Click here for details.
February 21: Park Closures: More to the Story
Click here.
February 19: State Releases List of Parks to be Closed
Click here for story.
February 19: First List of Parks Targeted for Closing
Parks in yellow would be kept open if fee increases go into effect and if $5 million from the EPF is diverted from intended environmental purposes to pay for park salaries. The Trail Conference opposes this use of EPF money and supports adding $16 million to the parks budget to keep ALL parks open without raiding the EPF. We also support full funding of the EPF. Click here for list.
The budget submitted by Governor Paterson treats parks and open space as expendable items for our residents and our economy. In 18 months, the budget for State Parks will have been cut by 40%. The governor's own state parks commissioner, Carol Ash, is warning that if the budget is adopted as proposed, many parks will close. (THE LIST OF PARKS TO BE CLOSED WAS RELEASED ON FEB. 19. CLICK ON NEWS LINKS BELOW FOR DETAILS.)
• This despite the fact that the state's residents have flocked to state parks in greater numbers these past two years. (According to New York Parks & Trails, the number increased 2 million from 2008 to 2009.)
• This despite documentation that our exceptional state parks attract out-of-state tourists and generate up to $2 billion in economic activity.
• This despite the fact that New Yorkers demonstrate their love for parks with sweat equity, with thousands of volunteers from the Trail Conference, Friends groups, and school, Scout, and other organizations regularly working on trails and other park infrastructure and facilities.
EPF To Be Slashed; Land Buys To End;
In addition, the governor proposes further slashing the Environmental Protection Fund by a third. He proposes allocating NO MONEY for open space. This budget, along with the moratorium put in place last year, stops the transfer of lands protecting trails across the state.
*Feb. 19: The governor also proposes to offload some funding for state parks and other programs into the EPF, further diluting the Fund's effectiveness.
This short-sighted proposal would turn the state's back to its own list of priority conservation land acquisitions as identified in its 2009 Open Space Plan. Lands deemed crucial for protection of our water, wildlife, soil, and recreation opportunities will have no ready buyers other than developers if this proposal is approved by legislators.
If you love our parks...
if you use our parks...
if you volunteer in parks...
the time to speak up for parks and the environment is now!
We strongly urge anyone with an interest in parks and the environment to contact the governor and your state representatives now and speak up in their defense. Contact links and a suggested letter are provided below.
Click here to download a pdf with additional information about the EPF.
Governor Paterson (click here for contact info)
Your Assembly representative (click here to find yours)
Your State Senator (click here to find yours)
Suggested letter for Trail Conference members/supporters
Adapt and personalize with your own experiences and views.
Dear [your representative]:
I am a park lover, user, and supporter of the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference and I strongly oppose proposals to further cut state funding for our parks and environmental protection and urge you to do the same. I recognize the need for New York State to stabilize its finances and reform its operations. The budgets for parks and the EPF have already contributed more than their fair share to these efforts.
Cuts of 40% over less than two years to State Parks, of 30% to the EPF, including a 100% cut to open space preservation, and the decimation of the Dept. of Environmental Conservation do not add up to fiscal constraint-they add up to irresponsible resource management.
What agency other than the state can provide residents with resources such as Minnewaska State Park Preserve, Harriman State Park, Fahnestock and Hudson Highlands State Parks, the Forest Preserve in the Catskills and Adirondacks, and so many more? The state and its elected representatives have a duty to keep these parks open, safe, and enjoyable for the public.
I am proud that as a member of the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference I am supporting volunteer work in our parks that keeps their trails open for public use. I urge you to oppose this new round of proposed cuts to our parks and EPF and to work to restore funding for these irreplaceable treasures.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
Attachment | Size |
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Friends of NY's Environment media statement 5-28-10 (2).pdf | 15.58 KB |
Comment: Please be relevant, civil, non-commercial.
John Boyd Thacher State Park Closing
Saving Parks through social networking
closing the state parks NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Need help understanding all of this.
Hello, I am deeply disturbed by this news, but I need some help understanding the possible permutations if this cutting of parks comes to pass. I live on Schunnemunk Mountain, and I see that the State Park here is on the list of closures. As such, I am personally affected by this. My family and I only have to walk out of our back door to be on the trails. My son is finally of the age where we can do several hours of hiking together, and now I fear we may lose this natural haven in our backyard.
If someone could answer my questions/concerns, I would be deeply grateful.
1. If these parks are closed, will it be forever, or is this a reversible situation, perhaps by the next state administration?
2. If the parks are closed, is that an automatic opportunity for the state to sell the land to developers?
3. I will be contacting my local and state level politicians on this issue, but are there other avenues of protest? Are there any advocacy group(s) for Schunnemunk Mountain specifically?
I guess my fear here is that this is a one-way, short-term money making scheme for the Governor so that he can solve his current fiscal problems without regard to the future of our state.
Also, if anyone has more information on the park closing issue, and on Schunnemunk in particular, I would love to hear it. I will be doing a lot of research this weekend, along with an impromptu hike, while I still can.
Thanks,
iBrock
They won't ban you
...But they can fine you!
re: Need help understanding all this
Schunemunk is my state park, and I love it. Please leave it free
Draft letter - feedback requested
Below is the draft of a letter I plan to email to every NYS offical I can. I welcome any comments/feedback prior to sending it out to the world. Thanks.
Dear ____,
I pen this letter as a concerned resident of the great State of New York. I am normally a quiet person, who keeps to myself and spends my free time with my family. But now I am compelled to write out of fear: a fear that you are about to make a tragic and potentially irreversible mistake by closing our state’s invaluable parks and historical sites.
While I am very aware that America is in the midst of a rather dramatic worldwide economic crisis, I am also aware that money is a fleeting thing. These harsh times will pass like they always have and it is in the years that follow that history will be written. Should our legacy be tainted by the callous abandonment of our precious and limited natural beauty and historic heritage? Money comes and goes, but once we allow the loss of parklands or the place where General Washington bedded down with his men on their long road to independence, we will never be able to reclaim those treasures save for on the pages of history books. This is unacceptable and if allowed to occur, our great state will never be the same.
As I travel with the Army, I often encounter folks from around the country (and the world for that matter) whose vision of New York is the suburban sprawl of the southern part of the state. I am quick to inform them that we live in one of the most vast, scenic and beautiful states in the nation. I show them my pictures of the Catskills, the Adirondacks and especially of my own back yard, Schunnemunk Mountain. I sincerely hope that my sentiments will remain a reality, and not some fond, forlorn memory.
Please keep our parks and historical sites open. Find a way to fund a legacy that transcends our generation and our current problems. I have risked my life in defense of our great nation, and while in those far off places it is my memories of New York’s vast, green forests that help guide me through the dark times. Do not take them away.
re: letter