Department of Parks, Recreation Department Agriculture Department of Environmental and Historic of State and Markets Transportation Conservation Preservation
2016 NEW YORK STATE OPEN SPACE CONSERVATION PLAN
www.dec.ny.gov This page intentionally left blank Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor
Lead Agencies:
The Department of Environmental Conservation Basil Seggos, Commissioner
The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Rose Harvey, Commissioner
Partnering Agencies:
The Department of Agriculture & Markets
The Department of Transportation
The Department of State
DEFINITION OF OPEN SPACE
Open space is defined as land which is not intensively developed for residential, commercial, industrial or institutional use. Open space can be publicly or privately owned. It includes agricultural and forest land, undeveloped coastal and estuarine lands, undeveloped scenic lands, public parks and preserves. It also includes water bodies such as lakes and bays. What land is defined as open space depends in part on its surroundings. A vacant lot or a small marsh can be open space in a big city. A narrow corridor or pathway for walking or bicycling is open space even though it is surrounded by developed areas. And while not strictly open space, this Plan also discusses cultural and historic resources which, along with open space, are part of the heritage of New York State.
Inside Cover: View of Henderson Lake, Tahawus Tract acrylic by Lauryn Kashdan-Schrom
Cover: Clockwise from left. Ashland Pinnacle State Forest by Melody Wolcott; Catskill Challenge 2016; Playground at Roberto Clemente State Park by John Rozell; Essex Chain of Lakes by Melody Wolcott. This page intentionally left blank TABLE OF CONTENTS
NEW YORK STATE OPEN SPACE CONSERVATION PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS NEW YORK STATE’S ______1 OPEN SPACE CONSERVATION PLAN ______1 It starts with the land. ______1 New York’s Open Space Conservation Goals ______1 New York’s Open Space Conservation Principles ______2 A LEGACY OF CONSERVATION ______4 A Tradition of Recreation ______9 Ensuring Environmental Justice ______10 Enhancing Our Approach ______10 Continuing New York’s Conservation Legacy ______13 PROMOTING OUTDOOR RECREATION ______16 Recreational Access for All ______16 Connecting our Children with Nature ______19 Meeting the Open Space Needs of our Urban Communities ______21 ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE ______25 Protecting Our Coastlines ______32 Establishing Riparian Buffers ______35 and Wetland Protections ______35 Mitigation and Adaptation through Sustainable Forestry Management ______38 Promoting Urban Forestry and Green Infrastructure ______40 ENSURING CLEAN WATER, AIR AND LAND FOR A HEALTHY PUBLIC AND VIBRANT ECONOMY ______45 Providing Watershed and Water Quality Protections ______45 Community Greening for Environmental Justice ______48 Health Benefits of Forests and Open Space ______48 Connecting To Our Food and Our Neighborhoods ______49 Promoting Smart Growth and Improving Our Transportation Uses ______51 PROTECTING, UTILIZING AND CONSERVING OUR STATE'S NATURAL RESOURCES AND CULTURAL HERITAGE ______58 Supporting Our Working Farms and Forests ______58
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Stewarding Our Open Spaces ______62 Preserving Our Scenic, Historic and Cultural Heritage ______69 CONCLUSION ______73 REGIONAL PRIORITY CONSERVATION PROJECTS ______79 NEW YORK STATE'S REGIONAL OPEN SPACE ADVISORY COMMITTEES ______79 NEW YORK STATE'S PRIORITY OPEN SPACE CONSERVATION PROJECTS ______79 REGION 1/LONG ISLAND ______80 REGION 2/NEW YORK CITY/5 BOROUGHS ______86 REGION 3/LOWER HUDSON VALLEY ______92 REGIONS 3 & 4 ______106 REGION 4/CAPITAL REGION ______118 REGIONS 4 & 5 ______123 REGION 5/EASTERN ADIRONDACKS/LAKE CHAMPLAIN ______124 REGIONS 5 & 6 ______132 REGION 6/WESTERN ADIRONDACKS ______133 REGIONS 6 & 7 ______137 REGION 7/CENTRAL NEW YORK ______137 REGIONS 7 & 8 ______140 REGION 8/WESTERN FINGER LAKES ______143 REGIONS 8 & 9 ______146 REGION 9/WESTERN NEW YORK ______147 MULTI -REGION ______152 STATEWIDE ______155 LAND CONSERVATION RESOURCES ______165 RESOURCE INVENTORIES ______165 PROGRAMS and PARTNERS ______176 PROMOTING OUTDOOR RECREATION ______177 ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE ______187 ENSURING CLEAN WATER, AIR AND LAND FOR A HEALTHY PUBLIC AND VIBRANT ECONOMY ______195 PROTECTING, UTILIZING AND CONSERVING OUR STATE'S NATURAL RESOURCES AND CULTURAL HERITAGE ______202 REGIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS ______221
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LONG ISLAND - REGION 1 ______221 NEW YORK CITY - REGION 2 ______229 LOWER HUDSON VALLEY - REGION 3 ______242 CAPITAL DISTRICT - REGION 4 ______251 EASTERN ADIRONDACKS & LAKE CHAMPLAIN - REGION 5 ______257 WESTERN ADIRONDACKS / EASTERN LAKE ONTARIO / UPPER MOHAWK VALLEY - REGION 6 ______272 CENTRAL NEW YORK - REGION 7 ______282 WESTERN FINGER LAKES - REGION 8 ______292 WESTERN NEW YORK - REGION 9 ______299 STATE AGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION ______308
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NEW YORK STATE’S OPEN SPACE CONSERVATION PLAN
It starts with the land. New York has one of the largest public land bases in the country, with spectacular scenery and terrain representing every major ecosystem. Ranging from the salt marshes of Long Island to the alpine tundra of the Adirondack High Peaks and the cascades of Niagara Falls, these lands are held for our state's citizens and represent a legacy of more than 100 years of land conservation and stewardship. Privately held lands, including farms and forests, also contribute to open space protection and are part of the rich fabric of New York's outdoor heritage.
Under the leadership of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, New York has made great strides to continue our conservation legacy including record funding of $300 million for the EPF in the 2016-17 state budget, the guidance of the 2100 Commission Report and the passage of the Community Risk and Resiliency Act. We have made great strides in fulfilling our state's mission of protecting ecosystems, preserving open space, preserving a sustainable quality of life, providing for future environmental benefits and recreational benefits on some of the most heavily used public lands. We will need to continue to work in partnerships and provide adequate funding and other tools to accomplish the goals of this Plan, conserving and maintaining land for our ecosystem health and for our own well-being, providing access to recreational resources and increasing tourism.
New York’s formal Open Space Conservation program began in 1990 and was designed to ensure citizen input into the land acquisition decisions made by the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP). Since its beginning, the program has developed a comprehensive statewide Open Space Conservation Plan (Plan) that represents current open space conservation actions, tools, and programs administered by DEC, OPRHP, the Department of State (DOS), the Adirondack Park Agency (APA), the Department of Agriculture and Markets (DAM) and the Department of Transportation (DOT). It has become an important and popular voice for conserving our State's open spaces and the quality of life that they provide us.
New York’s Open Space Conservation Goals To protect water quality, including surface and underground drinking water supplies, lakes, streams and coastal and estuarine waters needed to sustain human life and aquatic ecosystems. To provide accessible, quality, outdoor recreation and open space to all New Yorkers. To protect habitat for the diversity of plant and animal species to ensure the protection of healthy, viable and sustainable ecosystems To improve quality of life and overall health in our communities, especially those with limited current access to open space. To maintain critical natural resource-based industries such as farming, forest products, commercial fishing and tourism.
2016 NEW YORK STATE OPEN SPACE CONSERVATION PLAN 1 NEW YORK STATE’S OPEN SPACE CONSERVATION PLAN To address global climate change by encouraging more compact community design patterns. To address global climate change by sustainable stewardship of our forests for climate mitigation and adaptation. To address climate change by protecting our coastlines, broad riparian corridors and wetlands. To address global climate change by adding to the tree canopy in our urban centers and urban communities to moderate temperature fluctuations, thereby lowering our energy consumption To maintain an interconnected network of protected lands and waters enabling flora and fauna to adapt to climate change To protect habitat to sustain the traditional pastimes of hunting, fishing, trapping and wildlife viewing To provide places available to all New Yorkers for education and research relating to ecological, environmental and cultural resources To protect and enhance scenic, historic and cultural resources considered to be valued parts of the common heritage of our citizens To strategically preserve, restore, and/or create a matrix of natural systems sufficiently complex and interconnected to be self-sustaining while performing the critical natural functions necessary to sustain us To improve quality of life with targeted green infrastructure that restores environmental benefits of open space, aesthetics, clean air, water, soil and access to nature in disadvantaged communities that have suffered an excessive, unfair share of environmental degradation To identify, sustain, and rebuild natural lands, features, and systems that prevent or buffer impacts to life and property from extreme weather events.
New York’s Open Space Conservation Principles Work in partnership with other levels of government, community groups, not-for-profit conservation organizations and private landowners to establish and achieve land conservation goals. When using land acquisition as a conservation tool, deal fairly and openly with property owners on a willing seller/willing buyer basis and work cooperatively with local governments and citizens. Expand the conservation tools available to communities and to individuals for undertaking complementary action at the local and regional level. Establish focused and achievable priorities for state action to conserve specific open space parcels and cultural resources. Identify various conservation tools, methods, strategies and actions for protecting a variety of open space resources. Establish conservation priorities through the objective measurement of urban and rural land conservation needs and broad-based citizen opinion. Identify future funding needs and stewardship expenses when proposing acquisition as a tool for land conservation. Strive to combat sprawl through smart growth planning at the local, regional and state planning level.,
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NEW YORK STATE’S OPEN SPACE CONSERVATION PLAN Obtain meaningful involvement from the Environmental Justice community in the development of plan priorities.
Open spaces provide many benefits to society, including clean air, clean water, fresh oxygen, pollination of crops, and protection from storm surges and floods among many others. The quantity and quality of the benefits open spaces provide to society depend on society’s conservation and stewardship of those resources.
As our State faces challenges, we will need to adapt our strategies accordingly. Fortunately, we have a wide array of methods to achieve our open space conservation goals. On the following pages is a list of conservation tools that we can use to continue to meet our open space needs during these challenging times.
These tools have expanded and become an important part of New York's Open Space Conservation program. Public land acquisition remains a necessary tool for conservation throughout our State, but alternative methods for land protection can also be effective. These tools include: conservation easements, involvement of citizens and their communities; collaboration among landowners; regional and statewide coordination and cooperation in ecosystem-based management and smart-growth efforts; town-wide comprehensive planning; establishment of local open space funding sources; careful management of development incentives; local land use planning; the efforts of non-profit organizations; and practical changes in zoning. Protection of open space, in as many ways as possible, is perhaps the most important investment we can make to counter the effects of climate change. Increasing protection for privately owned open space is especially important to help keep more of New York's 7.6 million acres of farmland as farms, and more of New York's 14.4 million acres of privately owned forestland as forests.
The Plan provides an integrated statewide strategy for land conservation—a holistic view of the inter- connections between our natural resources. Beyond simply identifying individual parcels or areas of land within political boundaries, regional conservation projects and other programs will become prioritized within a landscape context. This complex, interconnected matrix of natural lands and systems that perform utilitarian, life-sustaining functions is our green infrastructure. Conservation goals have been identified for sustaining New York's ecological integrity and rich biodiversity by maintaining viable and representative samples of all ecosystem types in the State, linking State lands to create large-scale biodiversity reserves, maintaining evolutionary and ecological processes (i.e., disturbance regimes, hydrological processes, and nutrient cycles), increasing effectiveness of conservation actions by considering site or parcel location on the landscape, and accounting for human use and impact.
There is significant public support for this type of large-scale, integrated approach because it can be more effective than piecemeal, small-scale efforts. It also considers natural resources at an effective ecological scale; as such, we will become better stewards of our land, infrastructure, and natural resources. By conducting planning, acquisition, and restoration projects at the landscape level, we will accelerate the protection of air, land and water quality; build partnerships to foster an understanding of
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NEW YORK STATE’S OPEN SPACE CONSERVATION PLAN how to use and protect the environment; and provide a public role in planning, implementation, and evaluation of resource programs.
EXAMPLE of TOOLS AVAILABLE for OPEN SPACE CONSERVATION For more information on these tools, see the NYS Department of State’s Local Planning Guide http://www.dos.ny.gov/lg/publications/Local_Open_Space_Planning_Guide.pdf
Partners for Protection by Fee, Municipalities Can Use Land Use Tools for Open Acquisition, Easement or Lease Space Protection or to Complement Land Protection Land Trusts, Municipal Comprehensive Plans Not-for-Profits & Community Interest Natural Resource Inventory Groups Local Open Space Plan Local Government (county, town, city, Cluster/Conservation Development village) Federal Government Funding for Local Open Space Planning State Government Adirondack Smart Growth Grants Catskill Smart Growth Grants Funding for Protection by Fee, Acquisition, Hudson River Estuary Grants Easement or Lease Hudson River Valley Greenway Grants
Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan Federal Watershed Planning Federal Land & Water Conservation Fund
Forest Legacy Program Tax Incentives and Credits Can Make It Easier for Coastal & Estuarine Land Conservation Landowners to Keep Their Land in Open Space State Forest Tax Law State State Agricultural Value Assessments Environmental Protection Fund Federal Historic Structure Rehabilitation State Revolving Loan Fund Federal Tax Credit For Gifts of Fee and State Wildlife Grants Conservation Easements State Conservation Easement Tax Credit Local Term easement property tax abatement Local Community Preservation Act Local Bond Act Local Transfer of Development Rights Program
A LEGACY OF CONSERVATION
Our State’s Conservation Ethic
New York State can truly be called the cradle of the modern conservation movement. Beginning with the influence of the Hudson River School, whose paintings transformed the way people viewed nature, the ideals of conservation were first developed in our State.
Prior to European contact, the indigenous peoples who occupied the area that is now New York shaped their landscapes, through fire and other means, to meet their horticultural and foraging needs. Their
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A LEGACY OF CONSERVATION identities were determined in large part by where they lived and the wildlife that shared their environment, and their cosmologies required reciprocal relationships with their environment. The descendants of these original peoples, some living on their original territories today, continue to maintain a close relationship to the Earth and are strong advocates for the environment.
Before the middle of the 19th century, much of our lands were covered by forests, which had been viewed primarily as an obstacle to European settlers; they were something to be cleared for agriculture, or to be cut and exploited for profit.
The paintings of the Hudson River School and growing literature of nature writing gave people a new appreciation of nature for itself, for its wild beauty and remoteness. The public was eager to read about the adventures of Verplanck Colvin, known for surveying the Adirondacks. Publications such as Forest and Stream published by George Bird Grinnell, who founded the first Audubon Society in 1886 in New York City, brought awareness of the outdoors to a wider audience.
Hudson River School of Painters The Hudson River School is the first coherent American art style and was the prevalent genre of the19th century. With roots in European Romanticism, the Hudson River painters defined a distinct vision for American art through sweeping depictions of its landscape. The movement is credited with having a major influence on America's understanding of its natural environment, its national destiny, the idea that nature reflected the divine, and the desire for touring the country's natural wonders. It is thought to have included more than 100 artists over a span of 50 years, between 1825 and 1875.
President Teddy Roosevelt: National Forests, Parks and Monuments President Theodore Roosevelt was deeply affected by the power and beauty of nature, and it became a defining force in his life. He and like-minded New Yorkers sought to reverse the exploitation of nature such as uncontrolled logging, commercial hunting, and extermination of birds such as egrets for their plumes to adorn hats. As president, he established a conservation legacy of national forests, parks and monuments.
Recognition of the healthful benefits of nature led to the building of magnificent urban parks to bring the healing beauty of natural scenery to city dwellers. Frederick Law Olmsted brought a new vision to park design, creating naturalistic gardens. His parks transformed many of New York’s cities, such as Buffalo, with its green necklace of exquisitely landscaped parks. Olmsted’s most famous park—Central Park—is a stunning 840-acre rectangle of green in the heart of Manhattan.
Our State Forest Preserve Act By the 1880s, less than 25% of our State was forested, and the remaining uncut forests in the Catskills and Adirondacks were quickly being logged. In 1885, our State created the Forest Preserve Act to protect portions of our lands in the Catskills and Adirondacks from further exploitation. This Act was
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strengthened in 1894 by the “forever wild” amendment to the New York State Constitution, creating the first state-protected wilderness in the world, ensuring that Forest Preserve lands...
“shall not be leased, sold or exchanged, or be taken by any corporation, public or private, nor shall the timber thereon be sold, removed or destroyed.”
Today, New York's Forest Preserve is the largest state-designated wilderness in the country.
Our State Parks Recognition of the scenic value of New York’s unique natural features also led to the establishment of the first State Park at Niagara Falls, established as a State Reservation in 1883. It was soon followed by other State Parks, such as the Palisades along the Hudson River, the natural springs at Saratoga Springs, and the Genesee River Gorge at Letchworth State Park, known as the “Grand Canyon of the East.”
New York City: A Need for Clean Water New York City’s need for clean, safe, drinking water led to the development of a huge water supply infrastructure upstate, beginning with construction of the Croton Aqueduct in 1837. The first reservoirs were built in Westchester and Putnam counties and were followed by development of the Catskill watershed, beginning with the 1905 legislative authorization for New York City to acquire lands and build water supply infrastructure. The value of forests for the protection of our water supplies was one of the early incentives for preservation of forest land, with the City of New York buying thousands of acres adjacent to its reservoirs.
The Conservation Commission and Department In 1911, the Conservation Commission, the predecessor of today's Department of Environmental Conservation, was created by legislation to consolidate the functions of the Forest, Fish and Game Commission, the Forest Preserve Board, the Water Supply Commission and the Water Power Commission. Combining these commissions into a single entity reflected a growing awareness of the interconnectedness of forests, wildlife habitat and water resources, and greatly enhanced the state’s ability to protect the environment and to respond to new environmental challenges, such as rapid soil loss and increased flooding from marginal farmland, and rapid logging and numerous fires that left vast amounts of land stripped of vegetation. After the Conservation Commission was reorganized into the Conservation Department in 1927, reforestation efforts took on new importance when the Department began to acquire degraded farmland outside the Forest Preserve.
Restoring Productive Woodlands When the Great Depression hit, many farmers who had cleared woodlands for farming could no longer make a living on their worn out, marginal agricultural land. The 1929 State Reforestation Act and the 1931 Hewitt Amendment authorized the Conservation Department to buy land for reforestation purposes. These lands were known as State Reforestation Areas and were the beginning of today's
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State Forest system, which now encompasses more than 770,000 acres. The Conservation Department began a massive tree planting program to restore these lands for watershed protection, flood prevention and future timber production. Today, these areas are covered with healthy forests.
During the Depression, the federal Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, planted millions of tree seedlings from state tree nurseries on the barren soil of the new State Reforestation Areas—work that provided employment for thousands of young men. The CCC also played a major role in building and enhancing New York’s state parks and forests, which today provide thousands of acres for outdoor recreation.
Our State’s Private Forest Lands From as early as 1912, there have been provisions for tax concessions on forest lands to promote private forest land ownership. Various laws and amendments have been passed over the years culminating in the present law, Section 480-a of the Real Property Tax Law (480a), which has been in effect since 1974. Section 480a remains instrumental in focusing conservation efforts on 14.4 million acres of privately owned forest lands, encouraging the long-term ownership and stewardship of woodlands to produce forest crops, and thereby increasing the likelihood of a more stable forest economy. This early expression of “sustainable” forest policy has had a major impact on the growth and development of New York’s forests. Since the 1983 passage of legislation establishing Environmental Conservation Law Article 49 Title 3 conservation easements, the state developed its Working Forest Conservation Easement program, which has conserved more than 781,000 acres for sustainable forestry and in most cases public recreation. For a state with such a high population, it is an impressive achievement to have so much well-managed forested land, particularly in comparison to other states in the Northeast.
Our State’s Private Agricultural Lands The Constitution of the State of New York directs the Legislature to provide for the protection of agricultural lands. When the Constitution was re-enacted and readopted in November 1938, its Bill of Rights reaffirmed that owners of agricultural lands may “construct and maintain for the drainage thereof…under proper restrictions…” Furthermore, in November 1969, the Constitution was amended to “encourage the development and improvement of its agricultural lands for the production of food and other agricultural products. The legislature, in implementing this policy, shall include adequate provision for…the protection of agricultural lands…” Since 1971, the Agricultural Districts Law, Article 25-AA of the Agriculture and Markets Law, has been the centerpiece of state and county-level efforts to preserve, protect and encourage development and improvement of agricultural land for the production of food and other agricultural products. As of December 2015, 53 counties across the state have created 217 agricultural districts in which more than 8.75 million acres have been enrolled, including 6.2 million farm acres on nearly 24,927 farms.