In case you missed it, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced last week that he would not be putting the $3 billion Restore Mother Nature Bond Act on the November ballot this year.
Cuomo said he was postponing it, due to the state’s dire finances. Though the bond act passed the state Legislature this year, a provision in the state budget said if finances were poor, the state budget director has the authority to pull the bond act from a public vote. That move, however, effectively kills the bond act.
The Adirondack Council expressed disappointment over Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s decision to withdraw the $3-billion environmental bond act from the 2020 ballot, saying the measure could have helped get New York residents back to work and would have provided significant tax relief to rural communities, while protecting clean water and wildlife.
“We are very disappointed that the bond act has been withdrawn,” said Adirondack Council Deputy Director Rocci Aguirre. “We believe it would have helped to spur economic growth while it benefited the environment.
From the July/August 2020 issue of Adirondack Explorer, editors asked the question: “Is now the right time for New York to move forward with the Restore Mother Nature Bond Act?”
New York State’s latest conservation and environment funding proposal was wisely named. Each of those five words – Restore, Mother, Nature, Bond, and Act – can stand for good; but especially now, some months after Governor Cuomo proposed this fund, and confronting a global pandemic, these words are exactly what we need.
Humanity faces a pandemic now because we’ve been treating Earth not like a planetary Mother but like a shopping mall and garbage dump. Our fragmentation of natural habitat and exploitation of wild species led to this zoonotic disease spreading round the world; and the fundamental antidote is to Restore wild Nature. » Continue Reading.
ADK applauds New York State legislature for supporting the Restore Mother Nature Bond Act, a $3 billion bond act proposed by Governor Cuomo, which will support habitat restoration, clean energy, and climate resiliency projects throughout the state. “If passed by voters, this bond act will secure New York as the nation’s leader in building tomorrow’s green economy and strengthening our resiliency against climate change,” said Executive Director Michael Barrett in a news release.
The legislature also continued funding the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) at $300 million. The EPF provides essential support for land stewardship, to include an increase of $1.4 million to steward critical areas affected by high use. “During this critical time in the battle against coronavirus, Governor Cuomo, the Assembly and the Senate showed exceptional leadership in producing a budget that retains the funding needed for environmental programs that are essential for rebuilding local economies and combating climate change,” said Cathy Pedler, ADK Director of Advocacy.
As Adirondack Explorer’s policy reporter Gwen Craig reported this week, the Restore Mother Nature Bond Act passed its first hurdle with the passing of New York’s budget, but obstacles remain: https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/stories/restore-mother-nature-bond-act-leaps-first-hurdle-but-more-lie-ahead-as-economy-wilts
Commentary has been coming in celebrating the passing of this historic legislation, with the Adirondack Council, ADK and other groups praising state leadership for keeping an eye on the big picture, even in the midst of a pandemic. Tomorrow, we’ll hear from John Davis of the Rewilding Institute on why the bond act is needed now more than ever.
To follow this initiative and keep up to date on NYS policy that impacts the Adirondacks, sign up for Craig’s weekly “Adirondack Report” here: https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/newsletters/adirondack-report-newsletter
The Adirondack Council thanked Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Legislative leaders April 1 for much-needed environmental capital projects that were slated to be approved in the NYS Budget agreement.
They included a $3-billion “Restore Mother Nature” bond act and a $300-million Environmental Protection Fund that includes money to address overuse and preserve the most popular wilderness areas, trails and destinations in the Adirondack Park.
Given the challenges the Governor and Legislature are facing with the coronavirus outbreak, this is a very good budget for the Adirondacks. We understand that there may still be some need to economize as state revenues may be affected by the current public health crisis. This budget recognizes that clean water, open space, wildlife and a healthy environment remain priorities no matter what other challenges we are facing.
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2020 State of the State speech included two big pieces of good news for the Adirondack Park.
The first major highlight was his proposal for a $3 Billion Restore Mother Nature Bond Act that will support a variety of pressing environmental and climate change challenges across New York. This proposal is the first listed in the 2020 State of the State book that accompanied the speech.
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