In this issue:

• Governor makes historic commitment to state parks
• PTNY Growing the Grassroots grants awarded to park and trail groups around the state
• Make their day! Recognize and honor our park and trail champions
• Remembering Arthur Savage, a champion of New York's parks and trails
• New Yorkers for Active Transportation (NY4AT) coalition keeps up pressure
• Statewide trail counts yield impressive results
• PTNY launches technical assistance program for State Park Friends groups
• News from State Parks
• Catskills rail trail proposal could be a game-changer
• Give back to parks and trails--volunteer opportunities

Governor makes historic commitment to state parks

There was great news for our magnificent state park system in Governor Cuomo's Executive Budget. The Governor's proposed budget includes a $90 million investment to address the backlog of infrastructure needs and critical safety repairs at New York State Parks and Historic Sites. 

But the news gets even better: The state's five-year capital plan includes $90 million annually in new funding for the state park system in each of the next five years, marking the first time an administration has made a long-term commitment to providing substantial capital funding for parks. PTNY has advocated for funding for park infrastructure for years and we are gratified to see this promise of future capital funding which will help revitalize our state park system and secure New York's parks and conservation legacy for future generations. 

The Executive Budget maintains the operating budget of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and includes an additional $19 million for the Environmental Protection Fund, bringing the Fund's appropriation to $153 million which will provide critical funding for state and local parks and trails. Earlier in his State of the State address, Governor Cuomo also vowed to restore parks on Long Island and in NYC that were devastated by Superstorm Sandy. Read PTNY's statement on the State of the State. Read our Budget Statement.

Please thank Governor Cuomo for his commitment to the state park system by calling (518-474-8390) or emailing him.

Park Advocacy Day March 5

You can help make sure these critical funds are in the final budget. Join us for Park Advocacy Day on March 5th in Albany.

In this photo: Governor Cuomo with PTNY Board Member David Bronston at I Love My Park Day in 2012.

PTNY Growing the Grassroots grants awarded to park and trail groups around the state

PTNY has awarded almost $14,000 in Growing the Grassroots capacity-building grants to 10 not-for-profit park and trail organizations throughout the state. The groups will use the funds to increase organizational visibility, generate community support, grow membership, and attract additional volunteers. See the list of awards.

PTNY also provided Adirondack Recreational Trail Advocates (ARTA) with a special challenge grant of $1,600 for outreach to advance its efforts to develop a multi-use trail between Lake Placid and Tupper Lake and eventually to Old Forge in the Adirondacks.

Make their day! Recognize and honor our park and trail champions

Nominations sought for 2013 Park & Trail Recognition Awards

Behind every successful park or trail project there are dedicated individuals and organizations that rarely receive the recognition they so richly deserve. It's time to honor their efforts with one of our 2013 Park & Trail Recognition Awards.

Award categories include:

• Public Leadership
• Volunteer Service
• Corporate Partnership
• Get Outside Award
• Outside the Box

Nomination forms must be postmarked, e-mailed, or faxed to Parks & Trails New York by March 26, 2013. Winners will be announced May 15, 2013.

Arthur V. Savage, 1926-2012, a major loss for New York's parks and trails

Arthur V. Savage -- a longtime PTNY Board Member, leader, and creative presence; pioneer and influential environmental lawyer and policymaker; Adirondacks climber, hiker, rower, and protector -- died in December, age 86. This is a great loss for the many organizations and governmental bodies he was a part of and to which he made indelible contributions.

To note that Arthur was the founding chair of the Environmental Law Section of the New York State Bar Association, a former leader of the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks and the Adirondack Park Agency, a trustee of numerous philanthropies, and a practicing attorney for almost 60 years barely scratches the surface of his environmental and civic leadership and achievements. For more than half a century he served on many public and private organizations that helped shape environmental and conservation policies and practices in New York.

Arthur was a tireless champion of New York's parks and trails, always upholding the critical importance of protecting our natural environment now and for future generations. His commitment to the work of Parks & Trails New York will continue to inspire us. We express our deepest condolences to his wife Harriet, his children, grandchildren, and sisters. New York's environmental movement has lost a true hero.

New Yorkers for Active Transportation (NY4AT) coalition keeps up pressure

NY4AT, of which PTNY is a co-leader, continues to call for

• a dedicated line in the 2013-14 state budget that will assist communities with securing the resources to continue to invest in complete streets and bicycle and pedestrian projects
• assurance that all or a clearly established percentage of the federal Transportation Alternatives funds would also be dedicated to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.

Read NY4AT's letter to Governor Cuomo and Commissioner McDonald, signed by 42 organizations.

NY4AT also sent a letter to the state's Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) urging them to not only dedicate their Transportation Alternative funds to trails projects, complete streets, safe routes to school, and bicycle-pedestrian programs but also to utilize federal transportation program funds from the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), Surface Transportation Program (STP), and Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) as additional sources of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure funding.

Legislative Breakfast kicks off Active Transportation Advocacy Day March 13

The national advocacy group Transportation for America (T4America) will kick off NY4AT's first advocacy day on March 13 with a program focused on making the most of Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st century" or MAP-21, the new federal transportation legislation. We're inviting New York's senators and assembly persons as MAP-21 has given states, and therefore our legislators, much greater control over which transportation programs will receive funding.

Hear the latest from Washington, while sharing breakfast with lawmakers at Albany's Fort Orange Club. After breakfast, join NY4AT in visiting key legislative leaders to make the case for continued funding for active transportation by highlighting how important trails, sidewalks, bike lanes, complete streets, and safe routes to school programs are to the economy, quality of life, and health of the citizens of your village and town. Pre-registration is required for the breakfast and legislator meetings.

Statewide trail counts yield impressive results

In 2012, PTNY, in partnership with OPRHP and the NYS Trails Council, worked with trail groups and advocates to conduct the first statewide trail user count.  In order to ensure data of the highest quality, the more than 50 volunteers were trained in count procedures and assigned to conduct sample counts at locations of their choosing on 14 of New York's multi-use trails during the month of August. 

Based on the data collected, PTNY estimated annual use at each location using procedures established by the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project.  The greatest estimate of annual trail traffic volume was for the  Hudson Valley Rail Trail in Ulster County at over 650,000 persons.  Other popular trails include the Jones Beach Bikeway, the Bethpage Bikeway, the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, and the Robert Moses Trail near Niagara Falls. Overall, an estimated 2.2 million cyclists and pedestrians are using these trails annually. But with hundreds of miles of multi-use trails statewide, this is just the tip of the iceberg!  Read the full report.

Canalway Trail User Count: Glens Falls Feeder Canal

This past August, volunteers from the Feeder Canal Alliance in Glens Falls took part in the eighth annual Canalway Trail User Count. Using the data collected by volunteers, PTNY calculatedannual trail volume estimates of between approximately 25,000 and 51,000 persons across three sampling locations. Read Who's on the Trail? The Canalway Trail User Count 2012.

PTNY launches technical assistance program for State Park Friends groups

Friends groups are invaluable partners in efforts to protect and enhance New York's state park system. With parks still experiencing significant underfunding, Friends organizations are more important than ever in keeping our state parks and historic sites inviting and welcoming places for visitors.

In order to build the capacity of Friends groups and strengthen the community of park supporters, PTNY is launching a Park Friends Technical Assistance Program, adding to our suite of programs and resources available to Friends groups. Through the program, PTNY staff will provide one-on-one technical assistance and support to help strengthen Friends groups and enhance their efforts to support state parks and historic sites.

Applications for assistance are due March 15. Learn more. 

News from State Parks

Recovery from Sandy slow, but  coming

State parks continue to recover from the destruction brought by Superstorm Sandy. The damage, still being tallied, is estimated to be about $120 million. Five parks on Long Island remain closed, but State Parks expects to have them reopened in time for Memorial Day. Repairs to the heavily damaged Jones Beach boardwalk recently began. In his State of the State address, Governor Cuomo vowed to restore Jones Beach, Robert Moses and other state parks on Long Island and in NYC that were devastated by the storm. Read PTNY's statement on the State of the State.

Sandy changes course for Trump on the Ocean

Donald Trump's controversial $24 million catering facility at Jones Beach will not be built because of the damage to the park from Superstorm Sandy and the possibility of future storms. A New York Times editorial opined, "When summer returns to Jones Beach, people will find hot sand, warm winds, dunes and crashing waves - a world that a giant catering hall could never improve."

2012 a renaissance for State Parks

Despite the devastation wrought by Sandy, 2012 was in many ways a banner year for the New York State park system. New York Works projects brought improvements to more than 50 parks and historic sites, from playgrounds and swimming pools to roads, bridges and buildings. The improvements were noticed by visitors who came in droves: visitation was over 60 million last year, up from 58 million in 2011, and camping nights were up 36,000 from the year before. In addition, a new phone app was launched, making information more accessible, and several special events put state parks on a national stage. Here's to keeping the momentum going for parks in 2013 and beyond!

Catskills rail trail proposal could be a game-changer

In his 2013 Executive Budget, Ulster County Executive Mike Hein proposed that a significant portion of the rail corridor between Kingston and Belleayare Mountain be converted into a rail trail when the lease between tourist railroad operator Catskill Mountain Railroad and the County, which owns the corridor, comes up for renewal. Governor Cuomo has already earmarked $2 million for the trail in his Executive Budget.

"By adding to the tourism magnet that is the Walkway Over the Hudson, an interconnected U&D corridor with the O&W corridor which runs along state Route 209, as well as the Hudson Valley Rail Trail and the Walkill Valley Rail Trail, Ulster County will be well on our way to creating the single largest interconnected rail trail network in the state of New York," Hein said.  

The former Ulster and Delaware Railroad corridor, which runs straight into midtown Kingston, ends less than a mile away from the section of corridor that the Kingston Land Trust is working to redevelop as a rail trail.

Through our Healthy Trails, Healthy People Program PTNY is working with the Kingston Land Trust and its Rail Trail Committee to engage the community in exploring the feasibility of connecting existing rail trails outside the city to the midtown area. 

Give back to parks and trails: volunteer opportunities

Canal Clean Sweep April 19-21

I Love My Park Day - May 5  

The first-ever I Love My Park Day was a tremendous success, with volunteers -- including Governor Cuomo -- pitching in to celebrate and improve state parks and historic sites all across the state. This year's I Love My Park Day is going to be even bigger and better. Join PTNY, State Parks, and Friends groups on Saturday, May 5 as we help make our state parks and historic sites even more magnificent. Online registration will open in mid-March. Learn more.

Green tourism partners