Voters in New York narrowly approved Proposition 1, a ballot measure that fixes a constitutional violation in the Adirondacks and will eventually add 2,500 acres to the Forest Preserve in the park.
According to unofficial election results, Prop 1 was approved by about 46% of voters, while more than 12% left the ballot question blank.
"This outcome underscores how thoughtful environmental stewardship and smart economic development can work hand in hand to strengthen the Adirondack Park for generations to come," said Rocci Aguirre, Executive Director of the Adirondack Council.
The ballot measure addresses a violation that occurred years ago at the Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex in Lake Placid.
While preparing to host the 2023 World University Games, the Olympic Regional Development Authority oversaw the clearing and construction on 323 acres of Forest Preserve land. That work violated Article 14 of the Constitution, which states that the Forest Preserve must be kept forever wild.
A majority of voters in every North Country county approved Prop 1, while voters downstate were more evenly split over the issue.
In nearly every county in the New York City area, a majority of voters rejected Prop 1. Voters in Manhattan narrowly approved the measure by a 1% margin, with 12% of blank ballots.
Voters in New York have amended the Forever Wild clause of the Constitution more than a dozen times, including for similar amendments allowing the state to manage and develop Whiteface and Gore Mountains in the Adirondacks and Belleayre Mountain in the Catskills.
Ahead of Election Day, Prop 1 received widespread support from all of the top environmental groups in the Adirondacks.
“This amendment strengthens accountability for how state agencies manage and protect one of New York’s greatest natural assets, the public lands of the Adirondack Park,” said Aguirre from the Adirondack Council.
To make amends for the constitutional violation by ORDA at Mt. Van Hoevenberg, Prop 1 also included the protection of 2,500 additional acres in the Adirondacks.
The Department of Environmental Conservation hasn't yet identified where that land will be, nor has it determined how it will pay for that land to be added to the Forest Preserve.
