An Opportunity to Preserve the Adirondacks

A guest post from Mary Godnick, Adirondack Council

This week, there’s an opportunity to secure significant funding for one of the most popular outdoor landscapes on the east coast.

Protect the Adirondacks

The Adirondack Park is a six-million-acre state park in upstate New York. An estimated 12.4 million people visit the Adirondack Park and it is home to 330,000 seasonal and year-round residents. About half of the Park is public wildlands, constitutionally protected “Forever Wild.” The other half is made up of communities, private farms, and forests.

It’s home to 2,800 lakes and ponds and 31,500 miles of streams and rivers. It’s a place where you can climb the tallest mountains in New York State, see rare native wildflowers and wildlife, and hike through old growth forests. Like many popular outdoor destinations, the Adirondacks see thousands of people trek up the same popular trails on busy holiday weekends and during peak season.

Without a management plan, the impacts of 12.4 million people recreating in the Adirondacks each year are significant, and the state agency charged with overseeing trails and maintenance is understaffed and underfunded.

An analysis by trail professionals in the Adirondacks showed that over 130 miles of trails in just one region of the Adirondacks need serious redesign and repair in order to be sustainable. One study in the same region also found high concentrations of e.coli bacteria (an indicator of fecal contamination) in streams and waterbodies near high-use areas.

Over the past several years, New York State has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to promote tourism to draw visitors to the Adirondacks. But that plan never accounted for the impact increased visitation would have on the Adirondacks.

Now, lawmakers in New York want to tackle this issue, but they need you to speak up. Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation Basil Seggos have indicated that funding for restoration and maintenance of the Adirondacks is a priority.

There is a transformational opportunity to fund projects that will help New York State address the impacts of overuse and climate change. Governor Cuomo is currently proposing a $3 Billion Restore Mother Nature Bond Act that will provide funding for wilderness protection, open space acquisition, and infrastructure to protect people and nature from climate change.

A bond act is a voter approved loan that the state takes on by buying bonds and paying for them in each state budget over the lifetime of the bonds. It provides the state the opportunity to take on larger projects that traditionally would be difficult to fund in an individual budget year. The last bond act was in 1996 and it is almost fully repaid. Now, we have an opportunity to use this Restore Mother Nature Bond Act to preserve the Adirondacks. An additional benefit is that protected lands and waters like the Adirondacks help to mitigate climate impacts.

Some projects that the proposed Bond Act could help fund:

Acquiring land, and providing recreational opportunities
Protecting clean water and preserving riparian buffers
Improving fish hatcheries and public access sites

Upgrading to climate smart culverts and bridges, green infrastructure projects to protect communities from flooding

What’s Next

We need your help to urge your legislators to pass the Bond Act. Legislators are hurrying to pass the New York State budget, which could include this Bond Act.

With state issues like these, sometimes only a few dozen voices is enough to make a difference. We’ve made it easy for you to voice your support for funding the outdoors in New York. By sending a note to their office directly as a voter in their district, you will help move the needle on this issue.