Friends of New York's Environment



 Friends of New York's Environment

Protecting our land, air and water

For Immediate Release: Nov 19, 2007                                        

EPF is Key to NY's Environmental Leadership  

Environmental Groups Support Continued Funding for Crucial Programs

Friends of New York's Environment, a coalition of over 200 environmental, health, agricultural, recreational and urban stakeholder groups, today thanked Governor Spitzer and the Legislature for their dedication to protecting New York's environment and expressed hope for even greater accomplishments by these leaders in the future.

"New York has demonstrated a strong commitment to protecting our environment," said Jessica Ottney, director of state government relations for The Nature Conservancy. "Today, we are proposing budget priorities for 2008, to protect our land, air and water. We are hopeful that the state will continue the great work that was done in the budget passed this spring to revitalize state agencies and increase environmental funding."

The coalition thanked lawmakers who created the EPF in 1993, especially Sen. Owen Johnson and Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, who chaired the Environmental Conservation Committees in their respective houses. They had the wisdom and foresight to structure the funding stream so that it is not dependent on budget fluctuations.

 "For 15 years, the Environmental Protection Fund has been the backbone of New York's environmental funding for land preservation, farmland protection and ocean conservation projects," said Richard Schrader, the New York legislative director of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "A strong, aggressively funded EPF will maintain New York's stature as a national leader of the green movement."

 Earlier this year, the Legislature, under the leadership of Sen. Carl Marcellino and Assemblyman Robert Sweeney, the current Environment Conservation chairs, passed a bill to increase the EPF funding level by $25 million, to a record $250 million, for fiscal 2008-09, and increase the funding level to $300 million by 2009-10. Gov. Eliot Spitzer signed the bill into law.  

 Now, we are calling on the Legislature and the Governor to boost the EPF to the $300 million level for the 2008-09 fiscal year. Moving up the funding increase would allow New York to deal with pressing environmental concerns without affecting the state's General Fund. EPF resources come primarily from the state Real Estate Transfer Tax, which took in $562 million during the first half of the current state fiscal year.

This added commitment to the EPF would complement the already impressive record of environmental achievements. The EPF has helped New Yorkers establish recycling programs, protect endangered species, preserve farmland, revitalize waterfronts, close landfills, protect water quality and manage sprawl. The EPF has provided the money to protect thousands of acres of open space in the Adirondacks and other parts of the state.

  "Monies from the EPF funded the state's purchase of the Whitney Canoe Area, the rivers of the Champion International Company and the lakes and canoe routes of the International Paper Tract. The EPF has enabled New York to preserve the great forests and scenic ridges of Sterling Forest, only an hour from New York City," said Neil F. Woodworth, executive director of the Adirondack Mountain Club.

 Preserving forestland helps mitigate climate change because forests absorb carbon dioxide. Invasive species will also become more problematic as temperatures rise, and the EPF is the state's largest funding source for the state Invasive Species Program. EPF also has had an impact on the urban landscape by funding city parks and supporting zoos, botanical gardens and aquariums, which provide many urban youngsters their first chance to experience wildlife up close.

"The EPF helps bring nature to New York's urban and suburban residents through funding for living museums such as zoos, botanical gardens, aquariums, arboreta and nature centers. With approximately 12 million visitors annually, New York State's living museums are family and eco-tourist destinations as well as living classrooms," Lois Carswell, chairman of Coalition of Living Museums.

Some of the most visited tourist attractions in New York City are living museums, with the Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden among the top four visited nonprofit institutions in the metropolitan area. 

  "The EPF provides critical support for local parks, as well as state parks and other state lands used for outdoor recreation. The recreational opportunities parks afford are important to the health and well being of all New Yorkers, whereas the tourism and lifestyle assets they deliver are important to efforts to rebuild our state's economy, especially upstate," said Robin Dropkin, executive director of Parks & Trails New York.

 "The farm families of New York depend on EPF funding to pay for critical farm water quality programs that help protect our precious lakes, rivers and streams," said Jeff Williams, deputy director of public policy for New York Farm Bureau.  "The fund also pays for farmland protection programs that preserve the spectacular working viewsheds that our farms provide, as well as invasive species control and soil and water district funding, which acts as the front line workforce force for farm environmental projects.  The EPF is a valuable resource to help our farmers do their part to protect the environment and be responsible stewards of more than 7 million acres of farmland in New York."

 "For nearly 15 years, the Environmental Protection Fund has invested in the state's natural and cultural heritage," said Albert E. Caccese, Executive Director of Audubon New York.  "Increased funding for the EPF is critical for continuing important initiatives that protect open space and farmland, restore parks and native ecosystems and educate future generations of conservationists." 

 "The Environmental Protection Fund has become a vital resource for communities struggling with issues like overdevelopment and changing community character," said Marcia Bystryn, executive director of the New York League of Conservation Voters. "We look forward to working with our legislative leaders as well as the Governor's Office to build on this success story, by expanding this program to more communities around the state."

 "The Environmental Protection Fund has turned what could have been a catastrophe in the Adirondack Park into a triumph," said Brian Houseal, executive director of the Adirondack Council.  "Since 1993, two Governors and seven state Legislatures have used the EPF to protect the Adirondack landscape at a time when every paper company that owned a mill in New York was selling its lands and leaving the state.  Nearly a million acres of forest was up for grabs.  Instead of allowing the forests to be subdivided and sold for development, the state bought up the development rights on productive timberlands, while conserving the most sensitive areas as 'forever wild' public Forest Preserve."

 "The biggest success story of the EPF is the long-term dedicated consistent funding stream it has provided," said William Cooke of Citizens Campaign for the Environment.

Disbursements from the EPF between April and September of this fiscal year are higher than disbursements for the same period during the past three state fiscal years. If spending continues at the current pace, more EPF funds could be spent this year than in any previous year since the fund was created. 

"We look forward to Governor Spitzer's and the Legislature's continued support for these programs and all the projects that depend on the Environmental Protection Fund," said Robert Moore, executive director of Environmental Advocates of New York. 

EPF Success Stories 

Here are a few examples of the importance of EPF funding to crucial environmental programs throughout New York State:  

   - $350,000 to create Round Lake Preserve. The EPF award leveraged $490,000 in additional funding from Saratoga County, the town of Malta and private donors.  The preserve will provide public access for fishing, kayaking, hiking, birdwatching and other outdoor activities

-    $2.9 million to supplement the Wildlife Conservation Society's participation in the Species Survival Plan, which preserves endangered animals through careful and coordinated breeding management in zoos and aquariums.

 

−    $100,000 for purchase of a new site for the Mid-Hudson Children's Museum in Poughkeepsie.  The site increases access to the Hudson River and nearby Fishkill Creek and provides a valuable, river-focused education resource for children and adults.

 

− $85,125 for protection of 31 acres at Grassy Point Marsh in Haverstraw.

 

−    $1.5 million since 1996 from the EPF Land Stewardship Program for hiking trail maintenance in the Adirondacks and Catskills. EPF has also funded the Summit Stewards Program, a cooperative effort by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the Adirondack Mountain Club and The Nature Conservancy to educate the public about the delicate ecosystems atop New York's highest peaks.

 

− $100,000 for acquisition of development rights on 181 acres of farmland in the Wallkill Valley by a local land trust.  These easements are helping farmers continue the agricultural use of their properties.

 

−     $98,600 for upgrading a wastewater treatment plant in Kingston.

−     $1.1 million for the Honeoye Valley acquisition in the Finger Lakes.  DEC worked with The Nature Conservancy, Finger Lakes Community College and a private landowner to protect 2,500 acres of important wetlands and ridges at the south end of Honeoye Lake.  These lands are important for fish and wildlife, biodiversity, recreation, scenery and water quality in Honeoye Lake. 

 

− $15,070 for a study on the habitat needs of and the survival threats to the Cerulean warbler. The future of the Cerulean warbler, a small migratory songbird, is of great concern because of the significant declines in its small population.

 

−     $1.8 million since 2003 for the Conservation Partnership Program, which provides technical assistance and matching grants for land trust organizations. The program, administered by the Land Trust Alliance, has leveraged $9 million in private funds and helped local organizations protect more than 8,800 acres. In 2007, program grants are enabling land protection projects in the Hudson Valley, Catskills and Capital Region, as well in Livingston, Monroe, Otsego, Suffolk, Tompkins, Warren and Washington counties. Also, four New York City land trusts received funds to help manage 64 community gardens in low-income neighborhoods.

 

−     $100,000 for construction of a fishing pier on Annsville Creek. This project helped complete a Greenway Trail from Peekskill to Cortlandt.

 

−    $10.7 million, which leveraged an additional $4.3 million in private funds, to protect nearly 800 acres of the Albany Pine Bush Preserve. The preserve is the home of the endangered Karner Blue butterfly and 43 other species in need of protection. EPF also provided $3.5 million, which leveraged $1.7 million in private funds, for development of the Discovery Center at the preserve. The state funds also leveraged a $1 million private donation to set up a long-term endowment.

 

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