Catskill Center Lauds NYS Budget Wins for the Catskills
May 4, 2023 — Arkville, NY: The Catskill Center for Conservation and Development was successful in advocating for its priorities to end up in the final New York State 2023/2024 budget and applauds Governor Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers for their commitment to the Catskills. Three main priorities in the final budget include funding for the Congressman Maurice D. Hinchey Catskills Visitor Center, Catskill Stewards Program, and Catskill and Adirondack Forest Preserves.
“The Catskill Center applauds Governor Hochul, the Senate, and the Assembly for recognizing the importance of the Catskills in the state budget,” said Jeff Senterman, Executive Director. “The budget includes funding for expanded visitor services at the Catskills Visitor Center, stewardship money to care for the Catskill Park, support of research and data collection across the region, and more. Both the natural resources and the communities of our region will benefit by this increase in investment, and by the increased attention being paid to our region.”
The Catskills Visitor Center (CVC), which the Catskill Center manages and operates and is the Catskill Park’s only official visitor center, will see $200,000 — an increase of $50,000 from the previous budget. The Catskill Stewards Program, which places stewards at high-use trailheads and along hot spots, will receive $50,000.
Also, as co-chair of the Forest Preserve Coalition with our friends at the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK), $8 million will go to the Catskill and Adirondack Forest Preserves. Funding for the Forest Preserves was not initially part of Governor Hochul’s proposed budget, but we worked with state lawmakers and they weaved it back into the final budget.
In addition, funding priorities of the Catskill Park Coalition, which we co-chair, includes $100,000 directed to the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies for the Catskill Science Collaborative and $500,000 directed to Cornell University for an initiative to fight the invasive Hemlock Wooly Adelgid with biocontrols.
The Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), from which some of the above programs are funded, maintains a $400,000 appropriation in the final budget. This level of funding was first reached in last year’s final budget, marking an historic appropriation.
The Catskill Center also applauds the increase of New York State Department of Environmental Conservation staff in the final budget, which will help manage the Catskill Park and implement the Environmental Bond Act.