Photos by Naj Wikoff Tiffany Rae-Fisher, Director of Adirondack Diversity Initiative with David Kahn, Director of Adirondack Experience, The Museum on Blue Mountain Lake

On Monday, well over 125 people, many representing a range of nonprofit agencies, for-profit businesses, local governments, and other interests, converged on Albany to speak to elected Senators and members of the Assembly in all districts on the importance of protecting our natural environment and the flora, fauna, fish, birds and critters that live there. At the same time, they advocated for sustainable, vibrant communities and better management of state lands.

In many respects, there was a sense of greater urgency in light of the newly elected federal leadership pooh-poohing the threat posed by climate change, pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Accords, and rolling back environmental protections and staffing of the Environment Protection Agency. Many attending remembered well the decimating impact of Acid Rain on the Adirondack forests, waterways, and wildlife and came to do whatever they could, in partnership with the State, to ensure such damage does not happen again.

The Adirondack Council coordinated the gathering, which was billed as Adirondack Lobby Day.

The Council’s financial priorities are $500 million for the Environmental Protection Fund, $600 million for clean water infrastructure and septic systems, and $100 million for the NYSDEC Adventure NY Program. Under legislation, the Council seeks Article VII legislation to modernize the use of title insurance to expedite land acquisitions across New York state, including purchasing the 36,000-acre Whitney Park, which includes 22 ponds and lakes and 100 miles of undeveloped shoreline.

The Council seeks legislation to establish the New York state Road Reduction Council and Advisory Committee, introduced by state Assemblyman Billy Jones. New York leads the nation in pouring salt on the roads, with state Route 73 the poster child for the damage done by excessive salt levels.

Alex Walls, SUNY ESF program coordinator and Uyi Amadasu of the Timbuctoo Climate Science and Summer Institute participant

Towns like Keene had to move their wells at no small expense, and many homeowners along the roadways have experienced damage to their wells. Roadway salt has impacted lakes, ponds, and streams, resulting in cars rusting out; frustrating to many is the slow progress made over the years in reducing the amount of salt spread.

When it comes to improving the management of state lands, the Council seeks confirmation of new and returning APA board members and, within them, an increase in board members with expertise in environmental law, land use planning, and conservation science. The Council feels the Adirondack Park Agency Act is seriously out of date and should be amended to make addressing climate change a priority through protecting sensitive lakes and shorelines, preventing forest fragmentation, applying science-based development standards, and helping Park communities plan for their futures.

“Two years ago, the governor made two excellent additions to the board,” said Dave Gibson, Managing Partner of Adirondack Wild Friends of the Forest Preserve. “We need people on the board who will question the staff, challenge their recommendations, ask questions based on their experience and what they hear from speaking with local elected officials and environmental agencies.”

The Adirondack Diversity Initiative has partnered with a wide range of agencies to help make the Adirondacks accessible to all New Yorkers and visitors to our state.

“There is a lot of information that scares people,” said Tiffany Rae-Fisher, Director of Adirondack Diversity Initiative. “It’s coming out of a scarcity model that if we give to them, we must take from someone else. We are working directly with our partner agencies so they understand what is happening and do not get caught up in hearsay. The reality is we are making progress. We and our partner agencies are making the Adirondack more welcoming to all New Yorkers and visitors, which is good for the local economy, and by working together, we strengthen our sense of community.”

State Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages, Chair of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus with Paul Hai, Associate Director, Education, Adirondack Ecological Center at SUNY-ESF, Newcomb Campus.

In terms of encouraging more inner-city youth to experience the Adirondacks, a standout program in just two short years has been the Timbuctoo Climate Science and Summer Institute, which had about 25 of its 88 graduates in attendance. The Institute is an interdisciplinary summer program hosting high school sophomores and juniors from systematically marginalized communities. Organized and led by the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry’s Newcomb campus, the program aims to create awareness of various opportunities for academic and professional careers related to climate, natural resource management, and the green economy.

About one out of five youth who apply gets a full scholarship into the very hands-on array of activities offered. All the students I spoke with said that the experience was life-changing, and nearly all said they had been unaware of the scope and character of the Adirondacks.

“My two weeks at the Institute allowed me to focus on such critical issues as climate science and social environmental justice, “ said Uyi Amadasu. “I could explore these subjects in ways I would never have anticipated when I applied. I am eternally grateful for the experience. I was shocked to learn that Adirondack Park covers over six million acres; it’s an area in the State I had never known existed. Being here allowed me to build connections I rarely get back in Brooklyn.”

Amadasu went on to say that when she climbed to the top of Goodnow Mountain, she was astonished to look out and see a sea of green trees stretching in all directions as far as she could see.

“All the groups and individuals that came to Albany today are here to support the park,” said Rocci Aguirre, Director of the Adirondack Council. “The park is an incredible combination of natural resources and amazing rural communities. We’d like to see increased funding to support more rangers, which are all the things we normally expect from the DEC. However, regarding the Adirondack Park Agency, we’d like to see more attention paid to resource management and prioritizing resources and wilderness places; we have a big problem called climate change. When the APA was established, that wasn’t a throbbing issue. Today it is. Climate needs to be woven into every aspect of management planning and regulation; we need to build in critical conservation measures as the Adirondacks are an important carbon sink.”