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Conservation Update

April 9, 2008

Budget Agreement Reached on EPF

The Legislature has wrapped up a 2008-09 state budget that sets the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) at $255 million. That’s a $5 million increase over last year’s funding level and over the level in the Executive Budget unveiled in January. While we did not reach our goal of a $275 million EPF, we are pleased with this increase in environmental funding even as the state faces many financial challenges.

ADK is happy to report that the land acquisition category of the EPF was increased to $66 million, an $11 million increase over last year’s funding level. In light of the state’s pressing open space needs, ADK advocated for $100 million in land acquisition funds. The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) estimate they will need over $300 million for open space projects over the next two years. Still, the $11 million increase is a significant step forward in providing DEC and OPRHP with critical funding to ensure that important land acquisition opportunities throughout the state are not lost.

The Executive Budget also called for reducing the public access and stewardship category of the EPF from $22.5 million to $5 million, a 78 percent cut. This funding supports backcountry trail work and the Summit Steward program. The state argued the sharp reduction was justified because it was making a major capital investment in the state park system. The final budget includes $95 million for capital projects at state parks, which includes $8 million for improvements to DEC-operated campgrounds in the Adirondack and Catskill Parks. ADK was alone in lobbying for restoration of stewardship funding, and in the end, the Governor and the Legislature agreed to increase the category by about $1 million. ADK would like to thank all of our members who responded to our EPF Action Alerts and sent letters and e-mails to their lawmakers. Your efforts clearly made a difference.

ADK and other environmental groups strongly opposed the former Governor’s proposal to “sweep” $125 million of unspent EPF funds from previous years into the General Fund. However, the sweep was included in the final budget, which brings the total amount “borrowed” from the EPF since it was created in 1993 to $447 million. To their credit, the Senate and Assembly included language in their budget bills that would have required the state to repay all swept EPF funds in a timely manner. Unfortunately, neither repayment plan made it into the final budget.