State Park visitation soars

The 2011 numbers are in: 58 million people visited New York State Parks and Historic Sites last year. That's second only to California and up 1 million from 2010. So far, 2012 is looking to beat last year's numbers. By the end of May, visitation was up 11% from last year according to State Parks.

More visitors to parks and historic sites is great news for our state parks system, but also means increased wear and tear on aging facilities and increased maintenance needs on an agency already stretched thin. Upgrades and rehabilitation efforts are happening across the state thanks to Governor Cuomo's NY Works Fund, which supplied the largest infusion of capital funding to state parks in history. PTNY looks forward to working with the Governor and the Legislature to keep this momentum going in 2013 and beyond.   

Photo: Ric Vrana  

New lease on life for Knox Farm buildings

Governor Cuomo signed legislation this summer that authorizes State Parks to enter into agreements with private individuals who are willing to invest private funds to rehabilitate and maintain vacant and at-risk buildings in Knox Farm State Park near Buffalo. This adds Knox Farm to approximately 50 other properties previously designated by the Legislature as requiring longer term leases in order to attract private funds for repair and rehabilitation efforts. Read PTNY's memo of support on the bill. 

Knox Farm State Park

Mills Norrie goes organic

A new project will educate the public about healthy foods, agriculture and the history of Hudson Valley farming. State Parks is partnering with The Farm at The Locusts-on-the-Hudson to develop an organic farming project at Mills-Norrie State Park in Dutchess County. 

The Farm at The Locusts-on-the-Hudson will produce organic crops on 10 acres of the park, restore the historic Huntington Barn, and offer educational programming on agriculture and gardening.

Park visitors will be able to buy produce at the Farm's greenmarket. Produce will also be incorporated into the menu of the Taconic Outdoor Education Center in Fahnestock State Park. Learn more. 

Thanks in large part to the dedication of the all-volunteer Friends of Grafton Lakes, visitors to Grafton Lakes State Park can now enjoy panoramic views of the Adirondacks, Green Mountains and Taconic Range. The newly restored Dickinson Hill Fire Tower opened in June and was recently added to the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey, the Friends, and others were on hand for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The Friends, under the leadership of Dick Gibbs, spearheaded the restoration of the 60-foot tower, originally constructed in 1924. The tower was largely rehabbed with volunteer labor and donated materials. (Read a profile of Dick Gibbs that ran in the Winter 2012 issue of You Gotta Have Friends.)

Governor Cuomo has set in motion a new regional sustainability planning effort. The initiative is part of the Cleaner, Greener Communities Program, a $100 million competitive grant program to encourage communities to develop regional sustainable growth strategies. There are two stages of the program: in stage one, 10 regions of the state will develop comprehensive sustainability plans; in stage two, funding will be provided on a competitive basis for implementation of specific projects that help achieve the goals of the plans.

PTNY is working to ensure that expanding, promoting, and protecting a network of parks (including state parks), trails, and greenways is an integral part of all the regional sustainability plans. All regions will also provide the public with the opportunity to provide input and some have already begun. The  Southern Tier, Capital Region and Hudson Valley, for example, all have interactive websites where the public can comment on draft goals or suggest specific strategies. Contact your regional planning team and find out how you can get involved. 

The House and Senate finally passed a new two-year federal surface transportation bill in June that will have a profoundly negative effect on funding for trails, bicycling and walking. The bill cuts funding for Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School, and Recreational Trails programs by 40%. Plus, these programs, which previously benefitted from dedicated funding, must now compete for funding with programs such as environmental mitigation and boulevard construction, and states now have the ability to opt-out of funding for Recreation Trails. 

Another disappointment was the removal of Land and Water Conservation (LWCF) funding as part of the final conference deal. The Senate version of the transportation bill had provided $700 million of dedicated funding for the LWCF over the next two years. The House bill did not include the provision. In the final hours of negotiation, the LWCF provision was traded for the removal of the House's XL Pipeline and coal ash demands. 

The LWCF Coalition, of which PTNY is a member, had secured tremendous bi-partisan support in both houses for the LWCF provision and more than 1,000 organizations, businesses, and groups from all 50 states had signed on to a letter in support of the provision. 

While we are disappointed that LWCF funding was not part of the final negotiated deal, PTNY and the LWCF Coalition will continue to work with a growing list of bipartisan congressional supporters to secure funding for LWCF.

It's a sign of the times, and also a whole new way to explore state parks and historic sites: cell phone audio tours. By placing a call to a designated phone number, you begin an audio tour. By entering into your phone a trail marker number, you'll hear information about where you are and what you're seeing.

Several cell phone audio tours are now in place at New York State Parks. The Friends of Connetquot are behind an "OnCell Walking Tour" of Connetquot River State Park Preserve on Long Island. Visitors can learn about the history behind the landmarks of the park, the various bridges along the trails, and other spots. (See volunteer profile for more on how it came about.) Park-goers in the Hudson Valley can enjoy a "Talkway Over the Hudson," a 21-stop audio tour of the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Site.    

Photo: Ohio State House  

The Chautauqua County Legislature recently paid special recognition to the work of the Friends of Midway State Park. The Legislature passed a commendation giving "special applause" to the Friends for their work in support of Midway State Park, including the revival of July 4th fireworks, restoration of the Chautauqua Choo-Choo miniature train, acquisition and exhibition of a restored 1957 Pony Tractor vintage ride, money raised toward the restoration of the 1946 Herschell Carousel ($4,000 so far), and overall efforts to raise interest in the long-term restoration and beautification of the park. Kudos!  

From l-r: Vince Horrigan (Chautauqua County Legislator), Bob Wooler (Friends President), Kevin McNallie (Lake Erie State Park Manager), Kate Gross (Long Point and Midway State Park Manager), Brad Whitcomb (Allegany Regional Director), Lori Cornell (Chautauqua County Legislator), Bill Locke (Friends Board Member)

Volunteers are essential to our state parks and historic sites. That's What Friends Are For, in which we profile a dedicated Friends group volunteer, is a new regular feature in You Gotta Have Friends.    

With nearly 3,500 acres of land and water abundant with wildlife, 50 miles of hiking, horseback riding, cross-country ski and nature trails, as well as fishing on the Connetquot River, the Connetquot River State Park Preserve on the south shore of Long Island is an outdoor enthusiast's dream.

"I had first been to the property when I was 8 years old, in 1963, and fell in love with the fishing, the history, the ecology and the sense of wildness," remembers Richard Remmer. "My passion is fly fishing, both in fresh and saltwater. I have caught all types of fish on a fly rod, from trout to Blue Marlin and it all started almost 50 years ago at Connetquot."   

Richard first became active in the Friends of Connetquot River State Park Preserve when he joined the board in 1998, and he's been making things happen at the park ever since.

Keep reading about Richard Remmer and the Friends of Connetquot River State Park Preserve.