PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:                                       Contact:                           

Friday, February 19, 2010                                         Paul Ertelt, (518) 449-3870

 

ADK Calls on Lawmakers to Reject Park Closure Plan

 

ALBANY, N.Y. – The Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) called on the state Legislature today to reject Gov. David Paterson’s plan to close dozens of state parks and historic sites across New York.

“This ill-conceived plan would do little to reduce the state deficit, and could end up costing New York more than it saves,” said Neil Woodworth, executive director of the Adirondack Mountain Club. “New York’s state parks are a magnet for out-of-state visitors, whose spending supports local businesses, creates jobs, pays local and state sales taxes and boosts the state economy. What’s more, people turned away from their favorite parks may never return, so this economic damage could be long-term.”

Among the parks listed for closure include John Boyd Thacher State Park in Albany County, Schunnemunk State Park in Orange County, John Brown Farm Historic Site in Essex County, Woodlawn Beach State Park in Erie County, Chittenango Falls State Park in Madison County, Point Au Roche State Park in Clinton County, Long Point State Park in Chautauqua County, Sacketts Harbor State Historic Site in Jefferson County, Schodack Island State Park in Rensselaer County, Pixley Falls State Park in Oneida County, Chimney Bluffs State Park in Wayne County and Nissequogue State Park in Suffolk County. Hours and amenities would be reduced at a number of other parks under the plan.  (A complete list of closed parks is available at here.)

“Some of these closures make no sense, especially at the wilder state parks that cost little to staff and maintain,” Woodworth said. “How are they going to keep people out of Thacher Park, which has a public highway running through it? Unless they pay for security staff to keep people out, they will park along the side of the road and walk in. The situation would also leave the park and its facilities vulnerable to abuse and vandalism. Where are the cost savings in that?”

The governor’s proposal also raises a number of questions, such as whether long-distance hiking trails and canoe routes that pass through these state parks will be closed as well. For example, John Boyd Thacher State Park is the northern terminus of the Long Path Trail, which winds more than 300 miles from its start at the George Washington Bridge.

The Adirondack Mountain Club, founded in 1922, is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to protecting the New York State Forest Preserve and other wild lands and waters through conservation and advocacy, environmental education and responsible recreation.