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Park Chief says money for project will be tight - 4 August, 2003
Conservationists urged to work on protecting resources
Nancy Cacioppo
The Journal News
STONY POINT— While non-profit organizations have been successful with recent land acquisitions, state budgets will continue to put the pinch on projects in the coming year, a state official said yesterday.
Carol Ash, executive director of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, discussed “The Future Without Lots of Money” during her annual state-of-the-park address for about 40 members of the Conservation Association at their summer quarterly meeting at the Stony Point Battlefield State Historic Site.
What Ash called “inappropriate development” throughout the Hudson valley continues to spur collaborative efforts by the commission and environmental groups to preserve open space and protect water resources and habitat, Ash said.
Among the most critical areas, she said, are 2,500 acres slated for development adjacent to Minnewaska State park, and 600 acres earmarked for a residential development and an 18-hole golf course in the middle of Sterling Forest State park.
The park’s recent acquisitions, purchased through Scenic Hudson include the Trading Post restaurant, overlooking the Fort Montgomery Battle Site just north of the Bear Mountain bridge. After renovations, plans are to reopen the building next spring as a restaurant and tourism information facility. A Fort Montgomery visitor center is also in the planning stages, Ash said.
In addition, the Open Space Institute has acquired more than 5,000 acres of Schunnemunk Mountain range west of Storm King Mountain, which will become a new state park, Ash said.
Ash urged the conservationists to write their legislators in support of the Highlands Stewardship Act, scheduled for Senate hearings in September. The proposed Highlands legislation, which has bipartisan support, would authorize $25 million annually over a 10-year period to help New York, new jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut protect critical lands and waters in the 2-million acre Highlands region, and provide $7 million a year over 10 years for technical assistance to communities and private landowners.
One of the most immediate examples of the state’s tight fiscal situation was evident at the Stony Point Battlefield yesterday, where a $5-per-car admission on Saturdays and Sundays went into effect for the first time last weekend. Admission to the battlefield museum, which began in April, asks $2 for adults and $1 for children and seniors 62 and over on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. The museum is closed on Tuesdays.
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