Adirondack Council Reminds Environmental Voters Vote "NO" on Proposal 1; Vote "YES" on Proposal 3
For more information:
John F. Sheehan
518-432-1770 (ofc)
518-441-1340 (cell)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sunday, November 5, 2017
ALBANY, N.Y. – The Adirondack Council is calling on environmental voters statewide to oppose a Constitutional Convention – Proposal 1 on the November 7 ballot – and to support a narrower Constitutional Amendment that would create a community land bank in the Adirondacks and Catskills – Proposal 3.
“It is important for environmental voters to understand that a Constitutional Convention would put the Forever Wild clause at risk,” said Adirondack Council Executive Director William C. Janeway. “Convention delegates would rewrite or eliminate portions of the current Constitution, which could include changes to the Forever Wild clause. That would be a disaster for the Adirondacks and Catskills.
“However, we support Proposal 3, which would create a land bank for use by communities for health and safety projects,” Janeway said. “It is good for conservation and helps to reinforce support for the Forever Wild clause.”
The Forever Wild clause (Article 14, Section 1) is the strongest forest protection law in the world. It prohibits the lease, sale or taking of public lands by anyone and bans all logging and development. It cannot be altered without the consent of the voters. All state residents have legal standing to sue the government if the clause isn’t enforced.
The Adirondack Council has been a staunch defender of the Forever Wild clause since the non-partisan, not-for-profit environmental organization was founded in 1975. This summer, Council created the Committee to Defend Forever Wild to promote its support for Proposal 3 land bank and its opposition to Proposal 1, the Constitutional Convention. It has spent tens of thousands on advertising, public appearances, editorial board meetings and media interviews statewide.
“Proposal 3 would actually help to build public support for the Forever Wild clause, without the risk of altering the ironclad protections that keep the Forest Preserve wild forever,” Janeway said. “It would create a very modest land bank to help Adirondack and Catskill communities carry out public safety and community-improvement projects that are currently blocked by small parcels of Forest Preserve along a town or county road. Forest Preserve must remain wild, so there is no building or timber removal allowed, regardless of how small the parcel.”
Public and private lands sit side-by-side in the Adirondack and Catskill parks, often in a checkerboard or patchwork pattern. Roadside improvements such as new sewer lines, drinking water or broadband telecommunications lines have been stymied by a small patch of Forest Preserve that prevents a connection between two parcels of private land.
“This often leads to frustration and resentment in the community, and sometimes urgent calls to eliminate or alter the Forever Wild status of the Forest Preserve,” Janeway said. “The land bank can provide the breathing room the communities need to remain sustainable, while having no material impact on the size or health of the Adirondack and Catskill forest preserves. It would affect only 250 acres on the edge of roads and there are three million acres of Forest Preserve. All 250 acres would be replaced before the first project application will be considered.”
If the land bank (Proposal 3) is approved, minor roadside problems would be solved in a rational process, overseen by state environmental officials. Projects would be limited in size. No single project could use more than a mile of roadside, for example.
To create the bank, a new 250 acres would be acquired and added to the Forest Preserve now, so there would be no net loss of public land. Over time, communities would apply for approval of projects that could use a small portion of the land bank. Once the 250 acres is used, the bank would be extinguished.
Voters approved a similar land bank in 1957 for the NYS Dept. of Transportation to use in straightening state highways. In 60 years, about half of those 400 acres have been used.
Six times in the past 22 years, the voters have approved amendments to the Forever Wild clause to accommodate large community projects that required a land swap involving five acres or more of Forest Preserve. Those larger projects will still require separate Constitutional Amendments.
“The land bank is really designed for projects that communities felt were too small for them to ask for a Constitutional Amendment,” Janeway explained. “For towns with only a few hundred residents, the idea of carrying out a statewide voter education campaign -- just to install half a mile of internet cable -- was just too intimidating. But if that cable helps a town to survive, we are one step closer to an Adirondack Park where people and nature thrive together and support one another.”
The Adirondack Council is a privately funded not-for-profit organization whose mission is to ensure the ecological integrity and wild character of the Adirondack Park. The Council envisions a Park comprised of core wilderness areas, surrounded by farms and working forests, as well as vibrant, local communities.
The Council carries out its mission through research, education, advocacy and legal action. Adirondack Council members live in all 50 United States.
