Posts Tagged ‘Restore Mother Nature Bond Act’

Sunday, September 11, 2022

Bond Act deep dive

pataki and bond act

November is around the corner. That means voters will be deciding on an unprecedented level of state debt–$4.2 billion–to fund water-quality projects, climate change mitigation, open space protection and more.

As I was teasing a couple of newsletters back, we dug into records from 26 years ago to see what New Yorkers got for their borrowing the last time around. It was remarkable to compare the detailed responses I got from some state agencies to how little I got from others. Some even said they’d purged records from that far back. You can read about the record hunt here.

» Continue Reading.


Tuesday, September 28, 2021

After the flood and before the next storm

bridge

On the heels of the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Irene, comes commemoration of another calamity: It’s been almost two years since the Halloween Storm of 2019 dumped a frightening amount of rain in the Southeastern Adirondacks, an event that probably received less attention than was due because it centered on a less populated part of the park.
The storm washed out the road to the much-ballyhooed Boreas Ponds, scarcely six weeks after it had opened. One small victim of the storm was a bridge leading to Hammond Pond, a sparkling blue sheet in the Eastern Adirondacks. It took two years, but the state has finally replaced it with a beefy piece of infrastructure that is part bridge, part work of art (see photo above).

It may seem like overkill for such a small stream, but as the climate changes, that’s what it’s going to take to withstand the beating that trails, roads and bridges are likely to absorb from rising rivers and streams. Notably, the Restore Mother Nature Bond Act on the ballot next year would spend no less than $1 billion to brace against the impact of flooding. Many have fretted over the costs of lowering carbon emissions. But failing to lower carbon emissions is likely to cost us far more.

— Tim Rowland, Explorer contributor


Tuesday, January 26, 2021

What’s in the state budget for the Adirondacks?

Satellite view of the Adirondacks with blue line superimposed courtesy Adirondack WildFollowing Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State presentations, last week we learned about his 2022 proposed budget. Cuomo was largely asking the federal government to give the state more money, citing the coronavirus pandemic. New York is currently almost $15 billion in the hole.

But after Cuomo talked, some budget documents were released with a better idea of what next year could look like.

I’ll be delving into those in a bit more detail, but overall, we found that Cuomo plans to keep intact the $300 million Environmental Protection Fund, an important source of money for Adirondacks projects. The state Department of Environmental Conservation could be getting some new staff members, but it looks like they will be focused on implementing the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Some funding was renewed for Essex County to address overuse in the High Peaks, and $250,000 was renewed for the Adirondack Diversity Initiative.

» Continue Reading.


Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Following NYS’s budget priorities

CuomoLast week was a whirlwind of Gov. Andrew Cuomo press conferences. He gave not one, but four State of the State addresses.

In case you missed it, green energy topped his third address, and we wrote an overview about his first address. One thing of note: Cuomo did not mention renewing the call for a $3 billion environmental bond act. It seems unlikely, based on the fact that New York is about $15 billion in the hole.

But we did hear some legislators reference it last week, so it could come back. Assemblyman Steve Englebright, who chairs the state Assembly’s environmental conservation committee, had suggested the bond act would be revived. He brought it up during a committee vote on changing the state constitution’s bill of rights to include the right to clean air, water and a healthful environment. I wrote about that, too, if you missed it.

» Continue Reading.


Thursday, August 6, 2020

Bond Act becomes another casualty of pandemic

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.

» Continue Reading.


Friday, July 31, 2020

Adk Council reacts to loss of bond act; urges state to acquire Whitney estate

adirondack council new logoThe 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.

» Continue Reading.


Saturday, July 18, 2020

It’s Debatable: Restore Mother Nature Bond Act

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?”
Below is the “YES” response, from John Sheehan of the Adirondack Council and “NO,” from Roger Dziengelski, retired woodlands manager, chief forester and senior vice president for Finch Paper in Glens Falls.
Weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section!

» Continue Reading.


Sunday, April 12, 2020

Restore Mother Nature Bond Act Needed Now More Than Ever

five pondsNew 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.


Saturday, April 11, 2020

ADK applauds recent NYS budget measures

adk mountain club logoADK 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.

» Continue Reading.


Saturday, April 11, 2020

After the budget, a look ahead

NYS capital buildingAs 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


Saturday, April 4, 2020

NYS Budget Capital Projects Good for Adirondacks

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.

» Continue Reading.


Friday, January 10, 2020

Cuomo’s $3B Restore Mother Nature Bond Act Is A Big Deal

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.

» Continue Reading.



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