Adirondack lawmakers and advocates are applauding the new state budget, which includes more than $100 million for projects in the park and $400 million for environmental protection across New York State.
The $229 billion state budget is the biggest in history. And it makes big investments in the Adirondacks. Tiffany Rae-Fisher leads the Adirondack Diversity Initiative, which got a boost in the budget, bringing its funding up to $420,000.
Rea-Fisher is thrilled with that news and with all the state funding coming to the Adirondacks.
“Your budget shows your values, so the fact that the state is valuing this region, not only from a place of recreation, but from a diversity perspective, safety perspective, education perspective- that means a lot," said Rea-Fisher
The budget also includes $2.1 million for the Timbuctoo Summer Climate and Careers Institute. That program will bring students up from New York City this summer and introduce them to the Adirondack wilderness.
Rea-Fisher said funding the Timbuctoo Institute is another key investment in diversifying the park and investing in its future.
“You can’t fight for something if you don’t love it, so getting people up here, people of color to fall in love with the Adirondacks so that they can be a critical part of this region moving forward is essential to the survival and this area being able to thrive," said Rea-Fisher.
On a broader level, the Adirondacks will get a major investment through the massive Environmental Protection Fund - or EPF- included in the new budget.
“I think that the $400 million EPF was actually one of the bright spots in the budget," said State Senator Dan Stec, a Republican from Queensbury whose district includes the eastern Adirondacks.
While Stec voted against all 10 budget bills, he applauded specific funding for the park, including $90 million for the Olympic Regional Development Authority, $500,000 for fire safety at Camp Santanoni, and $250,000 for the Paul Smith’s VIC.
One thing Stec said he thought was lacking in this year’s budget is money for more basic needs in the Adirondacks. “Infrastructure- road infrastructure, broadband, cellular service, continue to be main issues inside the park that I think we’ve lagged behind other communities that are outside the park," said Stec.
One piece of infrastructure that did get a significant boost in state funding from the budget is hydropower, specifically three Adirondack dams- two in the Old Forge and one on Great Sacandaga Lake in Saratoga County.
Republican state assemblyman Robert Smullen, who represents much of the southern Adirondacks, said he was happy to see the $20 million investment in those dams.
“I think that work is very important because first of all, the Conklingville dam provides a tremendous almost of green energy- it’s hydroelectricity, almost continuous. It’s a great dam, but secondly, I would note that we’re closing in on having those facilities there for almost a hundred years.”
So Smullen said it's time to update those dams, especially with the state’s climate goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. The budget also includes $2 million to survey the climate and lake ecosystems in the Adirondacks.
Michael Barrett, executive director of the Adirondack Mountain Club, describes the budget as a huge victory for the park. He’s especially happy to see $100,000 for the ADK's High Peaks info center at the Adirondack Loj as well as $8 million within the Environmental Protection Fund for land stewardship in the Adirondacks and Catskills.
“It goes towards educational stewards, it goes towards trail work, recreational infrastructure like parking and trailheads, it goes to water access, accessibility and inclusion projects.”
The program will also fund visitor use management planning in the park, which Barrett described as critical. Every year, about ten to twelve million people visit the Adirondack Park. Barrett and others see the state’s budget as an important investment in its future.