STATE OF THE PARK 2018 - 2019 A NATIONAL TREASURE The AdirondAck PArk The Adirondack Park is the world’s largest intact temperate Through public education and advocacy for the deciduous forest. It is also the largest park in the contiguous protection of the Park’s ecological integrity and wild United States. It contains six million acres (9,300 square- character, the Adirondack Council advises public and miles), covers one-fifth of New York State and is equal private policymakers on ways to safeguard this great in size to neighboring Vermont. The Adirondack Park is expanse of open space. nearly three times the size of Yellowstone National Park. More than half of the Adirondack Park is private land, devoted principally to hamlets, forestry, agriculture, and open-space recreation. Nearly 775,000 acres are protected Dannemora from development by conservation easements held by St. Regis Falls the state or private organizations. The Park is home for 130,000 permanent and 200,000 seasonal residents Keeseville in 120 hamlets and 9 villages. The Park hosts 12 million visitors yearly. Jay Willsboro Nearly half of the Park is publicly Saranac Lake Essex Lake Placid owned Forest Preserve, protected as Cranberry Lake “Forever Wild” by the NYS Constitution Tupper Lake Elizabethtown since 1894. About 1.1 million acres Westport of these public lands are protected as Star Lake Wilderness, where non-mechanized Port Henry Long Lake recreation may be enjoyed. Most Newcomb of the public land (more than 1.4 Blue Mtn. Lake million acres) is Wild Forest, where Schroon Lake motorized uses are permitted on Raquette Lake Ticonderoga Indian Lake designated waters, roads and trails. Old Forge North Creek Plants and wildlife abound in the Park. Old growth forests cover more than 100,000 acres of public Speculator Warrensburg land. The western and southern Adirondacks are gentle landscapes Piseco Lake George of hills, lakes, wetlands, ponds, and streams. In the northeast are the forty- six High Peaks. Forty-three of them rise Northville Caroga Lake above 4,000 feet and 11 have alpine summits that rise above the timberline. The Adirondacks include the headwaters of five major drainage basins. Lake Champlain ADIRONDACK Public Forest Preserve Lands PARK and the Hudson, Black, St. Lawrence, and Private Lands Mohawk Rivers all draw water from the Conservation Easement Lands NEW YORK STATE Adirondack Park. Within the Park are more Roadways than 2,800 lakes and ponds, and more than Waterbodies 1,500 miles of rivers, fed by an estimated Select Communities 30,000 miles of brooks and streams. STATE OF THE PARK 2018 - 2019 A review of elecTed And APPoinTed GovernmenT officiAls’ AcTions AffecTinG The AdirondAck PArk Contents Letter from the Executive Director ........................................................................................... 2 2018 Report Card ...................................................................................................................... 3 The Governor ............................................................................................................................ 4 State Legislature ....................................................................................................................... 6 The Courts ................................................................................................................................ 8 Attorney General ...................................................................................................................... 9 Forever Wild ............................................................................................................................ 10 Other Agencies ......................................................................................................................... 12 Local Governments ................................................................................................................... 13 Dept. of Environmental Conservation ...................................................................................... 14 Adirondack Park Agency .......................................................................................................... 16 Federal Government ................................................................................................................. 18 Tip of the Hat & Awards............................................................................................................ 20 2019 Priorities ........................................................................................................................... 21 Written and Edited by Adirondack Council Staff View online: AdirondackCouncil.org / © Adirondack Council / Fall 2018 The mission of the Adirondack Council is to ensure the ecological integrity and wild character of the Adirondack Park for current and future generations. We envision an Adirondack Park with clean water and air and large wilderness areas, surrounded by working forests and farms and vibrant local communities. Using science, we educate the public and policymakers; advocate for regulations, policies and funding to benefit the Park’s environment and communities; monitor proposals, legislation and policies impacting the Park; when necessary take legal action to uphold constitutional protections and agency policies established to protect the Adirondack Park; and, secure public and private actions that preserve this unique national treasure for future generations. Cover: Paddlers on Boreas Ponds - Photo Nancie Battaglia Above: Last light from Owl’s Head - Photo © Carl Heilman II/Wild Visions, Inc. Board of Directors Robert J. Kafin Philip R. Forlenza Chair Ethan Friedman Michael A. Bettmann, M.D. Christopher J. Gorayeb Sarah C. Hatfield Lea Paine Highet Vice-Chairs Kevin McNulty Daniel J. Ryterband Sherry Nemmers Treasurer Justin Potter Charles D. Canham, Ph.D. Meredith M. Prime Secretary Brian Ruder Emily M. Bateson Kate Russell Jill Choate Beier Douglas Schultz David E. Bronston Laurel Skarbinski Photo: Nancie Battaglia Liza Cowan Douglas Stewart Dear Friends of the Adirondack Park, Georgina Cullman, Ph.D. Curtis R. Welling Thomas Curley Ethan Winter This year, as we welcome a record 12.4 million visitors to the Adirondacks, we celebrate the Park as a world-class resource and national treasure. We honor Directors Emeriti and thank all those who have contributed over the last year, big or small, to the Kevin Arquit Lee Keet preservation of this globally unique natural landscape. Timothy L. Barnett Daniel L. Kelting, Ph.D. Almost 90 percent of Adirondack Park visitors come to hike in a quiet Richard Beamish George R. Lamb spot, hoping to find a clear view of the stunningly beautiful landscape around Etienne Boillot Virginia M. Lawrence them and soak in the sights and sounds of nature. Others come to paddle a Peter Borrelli Douglas S. Luke Jeff Bronheim Lawrence Master, Ph.D. canoe (55 percent), go fishing (36 percent) or ride a snowmobile (8 percent). John P. Cahill Cecilia A. Mathews Every single visitor is important, regardless of his or her preferred form of Ann E. Carmel James B. McKenna outdoor recreation. Alison Hudnut Clarkson Karen Meltzer All of those visitors will take away fond memories of the Park, and we hope Tom Cobb Sarah J. Meyland, MS, JD they will make a permanent connection between the beauty of this place and Dr. Dean L. Cook Scott L. Paterson the laws and regulations that protect it. The Adirondack Park is facing serious Kathryn Cusumano James S. Phillips Evan A. Davis Richard L. Reinhold threats to its wild character, ecological health and communities. We will need George D. Davis Avery Rockefeller III the assistance of both state and federal officials to eliminate these threats. James C. Dawson John K. Ryder, Jr. Here at home, overuse of the High Peaks and surrounding Wilderness areas Edward D. Earl Ellen Marshall Scholle has gathered attention from the state, which has recognized the surge in use as Betty Eldridge David Skovron a threat to visitor safety, natural resources and the wild character of the Park. Christopher Elliman James L. Sonneborn John L. Ernst Constance A. Tate The state has announced some initial actions. These are positive steps in the J. Edward Fowler Joel H. Treisman right direction. Additional measures will also be needed to ensure that recreation Barbara L. Glaser, Ed.D. Patricia D. Winterer doesn’t degrade the pristine forests and waters people come here to see. Robert L. Hall, Ph.D. Aaron Woolf Farther from home, the Trump administration’s reversal of past bi-partisan David Heidecorn Cecil Wray federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) actions combined with an Theodore L. Hullar, Ph.D. Tony Zazula Sheila M. Hutt embrace of coal-fired power plants threatens the Park’s residents, wildlife, forests, and waters with a halt or reversal of recent declines in acid rain damage. Staff Members The Adirondack Council is working with leaders of both major parties in Albany and Washington to limit all of these threats and protect the Rocci Aguirre Lisa M. Genier Jacqueline Bowen Mary Godnick Park’s future. We thank you for your assistance in eliminating the oil tanker Elaine Burke Susan Hughes junkyard from the railroad tracks north of North Creek. We also thank you Kevin Chlad William C. Janeway for your successful letters to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, urging him to classify Meg Desmond* Revée Needham** the Boreas Ponds and a buffer around them as motor-free Wilderness. And Diane Fish Debbie Pastore J. A. Tyler Frakes John