Thank you to the members and supporters of PROTECT and 26 other Adirondack organizations for standing up for the Adirondacks! We had over 120 people join together in Albany to show State Legislators that New Yorkers care about protecting the Adirondack Park! The group, clad in red and black north country scarves, separated into teams and met with over 55 different Legislators, or their staff, from the Assembly and Senate.
Morning Program
We started off the day in the Legislative Office Building with thanks to Assembly Member Deborah Glick, Chair of the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee and our legislative host for the event, and to Senator Pete Harckham, Chair of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee. Assembly Member Matthew Simpson (representing District 114, in the Adirondacks) helped us kick off the morning. Assembly Member Michaelle C. Solages (representing District 22, and Chair of The New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus) also stopped by to express her support for protecting our treasured Adirondack Park!
Senator Pete Harckham, Chair of the Senate Environment Conservation Committee
A recent participant in the Timbuctoo Climate Science and Careers Summer Institute (Timbuctoo Institute) shared a personal message with the group about their experience in the Timbuctoo Institute program. During the day, we advocated for the Timbuctoo Institute to be funded at $2.1 million for the upcoming budget year.
Paul Hai, associate director of the Adirondack Ecological Center in Newcomb and director of the Timbuctoo Institute
Three students from Emma Willard School, participating in Adirondack Park Lobby Day as part of their Environmental Sciences and Policy class, spoke to the group about why they were advocating for the Adirondacks and their funding priorities. It was great to see these young people speaking up for current and future generations!
Senator Pete Harckham and Protect’s Executive Director Claudia Braymer with the class of students from Emma Willard School
Governor Kathy Hochul’s Assistant Secretary for Environment, Ashley Dougherty, stressed the importance of the Adirondack Park to New York State and its unique attribute of being a combination of private and public lands. Notably, the Governor’s 30-day amendments to the proposed Executive Budget include a new provision of law that will allow the Attorney General to use title insurance when acquiring property for the State. We support this provision that will speed up and modernize the land protection process in New York.
Governor Kathy Hochul’s Assistant Secretary for Environment, Ashley Dougherty
After the morning program, the teams met with various Legislators in the Senate and Assembly. Guidance and lobbying materials were provided to team leaders and each participant. These materials helped us to maintain concise and consistent talking points across the coalition of advocates.
2025 Funding Priorities for the State Budget
We asked State Legislators for a bigger Environmental Protection Fund in the State Budget, increasing it from $400 million to $500 million!
We also requested, among other critical programs, funds for:
– Land stewardship and acquisition in the Park to protect lands like Whitney Park and to meet the goals of the State’s 30 by 30 law
– Adirondack Visitor Centers: ADK High Peaks, Catskill Center, Paul Smith’s Visitor Information Center, and SUNY School of Environmental Science and Forestry Adirondack Interpretative Center
– Adirondack Watershed Institute and Whiteface Mountain Field Station
– A carrying capacity study on major waterbodies in the Adirondacks
– Survey of Climate Change and Adirondack Lakes Ecosystems (SCALE) study
– Timbuctoo Summer Climate and Career Institute
– Invasive species control and prevention
– Water, sewer and septic system infrastructure to keep our water clean
We are also advocating for legislation to implement the road salt pollution prevention measures that were identified in the Adirondack Road Salt Reduction Task Force Report.
Additionally, we worked to educate Legislators on the fact that the Adirondack Park Agency Act (APA Act) is seriously out of date. The APA Act should be amended to slow climate change and make the Adirondack Park more climate resilient by protecting sensitive lakes and shorelines, preventing forest fragmentation, applying science-based development standards, and assisting Park communities to plan for their futures.
Click here to read a joint letter from Protect the Adirondacks and other groups outlining Adirondack Park priorities for the new 2025-2026 state budget.
Click here for our analysis of Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposed Executive Budget.
Click here for a summarized breakdown of the Governor’s proposed budget for the Environmental Protection Fund.
Meetings with Legislators
The dozens of Legislators who we met with throughout the day were receptive to our requests for funding. Protect’s Executive Director Claudia Braymer led the Emma Willard School students on meetings with Senator Pat Fahy and her staff, Senator Jacob Ashby’s staff, and Assembly Member John McDonald. Pictured below are Senator Fahy and Assembly Member McDonald with the students.
Senator Pat Fahy with students from the Emma Willard School during Adirondack Park Lobby Day
Assembly Member John McDonald with students from the Emma Willard School during Adirondack Park Lobby Day
