Recently, Governor Kathy Hochul announced plans for New York State to purchase 32,000 acres of Whitney Park within the Adirondack Park. The proposal has received support from several environmental groups, who see it as a positive move for conservation in the region.
However, concerns have been raised about the state’s focus on increasing public land holdings rather than addressing other urgent environmental needs. For five years, legislation has been introduced to facilitate the sale of Camp Gabriels in Franklin County, with proceeds intended for further forest preserve acquisition. Although this measure has passed in the Senate multiple times, it continues to stall in the Assembly due to disagreements over how much land should be added to the Forest Preserve. As a result, Camp Gabriels remains unused and its condition is deteriorating.
The ongoing dormancy of properties like Camp Gabriels not only limits economic opportunities but also poses potential environmental hazards if their deterioration continues unchecked. “The longer the Camp Gabriels facility stays dormant, the risk of this blight becoming an environmental hazard increases,” said State Senator Daniel G. Stec.
In addition to land management issues, communities within Adirondack Park are facing significant water infrastructure challenges. Tupper Lake is one such community struggling with clean water access and wastewater system needs—a situation highlighted by Village Mayor Mary Fontana at a recent Adirondack Park Agency meeting. She estimated that resolving these issues would cost $20 million and noted that requests for state funding have so far been denied because Tupper Lake had already used up available program funds.
Despite these infrastructure needs, there are suggestions from some environmental advocates to use state Environmental Protection Funds or resources from the Environmental Bond Act for additional land purchases near Whitney Park instead of supporting critical water projects nearby. Reports indicate that statewide requirements for water and wastewater upgrades greatly exceed what is available through these funding sources.
“The state should not be making an investment in further land acquisition when it’s already failing to meet the dire environmental needs of neighboring communities,” said Stec. He also argued that acquiring more property is inadvisable if current state-owned lands cannot be adequately maintained.
Stec pointed out that declining conditions at former prison sites and unresolved infrastructure problems demonstrate how stretched thin government resources have become: “If these prisons or drinking water lines were instead the responsibility of a private company and fell into these states of disrepair, there would be calls for a state investigation.”
With New York State facing an estimated $10 billion budget deficit next year, obtaining sufficient funding for essential local projects will likely become even more difficult.
“Instead of investing energy and more money on Whitney Park, our efforts and resources would be better spent resolving longstanding issues inside the Adirondack Park,” Stec said. “Adding more land at the expense of these urgent, fundamental issues doesn’t improve conservation efforts; it only harms current residents and undermines long-term conservation goals.”
