NEW YORK MUST PROTECT 2.8m ACRES BY 2030 TO MEET GREEN LAW, STATE ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCY SAYS
DEC SAYS LANDMARK 2022 LAW REQUIRES MASSIVE BUYING SPREE TO PROTECT 30% OF NEW YORK’S WOODS AND WATERS BY 2030
Woman enjoys swim in a pristine lake deep in New York’s constitutionally- protected Adirondack wilderness in 2015. A new state law requires the state protect an addition 2.8 million acres, according to a July 1 report by the state agency responsible for implementing the new law. Photo credit: JB Nicholas.
July 7, 2024
New York has to protect at least 2.83 million acres of land, lakes and rivers in the next six years to comply with a major 2022 environmental law requiring it to "conserve" 30% of all land and waters in its boundaries by 2030.
That's according to a draft report published July 1 by the state agency responsible for implementing it, the Department of Environmental Conservation, or DEC.
“New York’s sustained leadership to invest in and advance natural climate solutions is vital to achieving both our climate goals and our efforts to conserve 30 percent of state lands and waters by 2030," DEC interim Commissioner Sean Mahar said in a news release accompanying the publication of the report.
A landmark environmental protection measure, 30 by 30 legislation was signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2022. With bipartisan support, the bill passed the State Senate by a vote of 58 to 3 and the Assembly 137 to 8.
The 30 By 30 law requires DEC to work with the state parks department to "develop strategies and a methodology to achieve the goal." The first step in the process was determining what the law means by "conserve" and the second was finding out how much of the Empire State's woods and waters are currently "conserved" according to the law's meaning.
The DEC's answer is 21.88%. 7,639,505 out of a total 34,918,885 million acres are currently "conserved" according to a broad definition of the 30 By 30 law counting 1.2 million acres of privately-owned fresh and saltwater wetlands protected by environmental regulations.
New York’s highest mountains in the Adirondack high peaks region 2016. Photo credit: JB Nicholas.
DEC's publication of the report July 1 is the first time Gov. Hochul's administration has acknowledged it is mandated to protect 2,836,160 million acres by the 30 by 30 law.
The report stressed open space is needed to protect not just public health, but outdoor recreation, which is a vital part of New York's economy since "248,000 jobs and over $25 billion in gross domestic product in 2021, is inextricably tied to the well-being of natural areas."
One of the green groups supporting the law, Protect the Adirondacks!, said in an emailed statement that "We commend the Hochul Administration for going on the record about needing to protect at least another 2.83 million acres across New York in order to meet the 30 by 30 Act goals."
Going forward, the group's statement said, "We call upon Governor Hochul to set an ambitious land protection goal for her administration.” As an example, the group pointed to former three-term Republican Governor George Pataki who "famously protected over 1 million acres during his 12 years in office."
Gov. Hochul now has 5 1/2 years to protect almost three million acres.
Since 2019, DEC and the state parks department have protected a total of just 43,676 acres, or about 7,279 acres a year, according to the July 1 report. To meet the 30 by 30 law's 2030 mandate, her administration has to purchase or otherwise "conserve" just over half-a-million acres every year.
Pond and primitive “lean-to” shelter deep in the Adirondack wilderness, 2017. Photo credit: JB Nicholas.
Last year, a coalition of New York's leading environmental groups warned state officials lack of sufficient funding combined with an outdated, faulty and under-staffed bureaucracy that slows state land acquisition to a turtle-like pace prevents it from meeting the 30 By 30 law's mandate, The Free Lance exclusively reported.
A bill to fix New York's broken land acquisition bureaucracy passed the senate this year but stalled in the Assembly.
DEC’s July 1 report says it will finance the massive land acquisitions required by its 30 by 30 plan with money from the Environmental Protection Fund, the Environmental Bond Act of 2022 together with the Clean Water Infrastructure Act of 2017.
But these funds are not enough to purchase half-a-million acres per year, as The Free Lance previously reported. For example, out of $400 million in EPF cash spent by the 2024 state budget, only $6 million is for land acquisition.
In fact, there's currently a giant backlog. About 100,000 acres worth more than $150 million are being held by scores of land trusts for purchase by New York.
Additional funding from the state legislature will be required every year to meet its mandated 30 by 30 goals.
The public has until Aug. 30 to comment on the DEC's draft 30 by 30 plan. DEC will host two virtual public hearings on the plan. The first on July 25, the second on Aug. 15. Sign up here.