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Conservation Report
October, 2009
Vice-Chair, Conservation: Peter O'Shea, 315-848-2178
Rooftop Highway
The proponents of the rooftop highway have changed its name to I-98 and persuaded Sen. Gillibrand to apply for $150M of federal stimulus funds to advance this project. This highway, which is not justified by the volume of traffic currently existing, would severely impact the environment of the St. Lawrence Valley by draining wetlands and drastically depleting open space. It would also disrupt a vital wildlife corridor between the Adirondack Park and wild areas of southern Canada. Socially the havoc to be caused by the destruction of hundreds of homes, businesses and farms through the process of eminent domain seems also not to have been considered by supporters. We hope an effective advocacy group will be formed locally to provide some balance in regard to this proposed $2-4B project.
Hamlet Expansion in the Adirondack Park
The APA appears to be proceeding at the behest of local towns and counties to implement a broad scale expansion in the park with what many consider undue haste. As hamlets are in general not subject to APA jurisdiction this process has the potential to spawn New Jersey- and Long Island-style suburban sprawl in the Adirondack Park. Environmental groups are only beginning now to take notice of this process, which has been underway for some time! Stay tuned.
Finch-Pruyn and Follensby Pond
DEC Commissioner Peter Grannis stated to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise editorial board recently that DEC intends to honor its obligation to purchase these crucial parcels from the Nature Conservancy. We hope this can be done in a timely fashion to relieve the Nature Conservancy of their heavy debt load. Lobbying by environmental advocates and organizations might be necessary in the future to ensure that these unparalleled acquisitions in the Adirondack Park come to a successful conclusion!
Protect The Adirondacks
The merger of the former Residents’ Committee and The Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks is now essentially complete and awaiting final ratification by the NYS Attorney General’s office. The newly-merged group now known as Protect the Adirondacks has offices in Niskayuna and Saranac Lake and is gearing up to confront the many grave threats to the integrity of the Adirondack Park that have recently arisen.