Dec 02, 2008 — As New York's fiscal crisis deepens, much of the debate in Albany has focused on schools and healthcare. But Governor David Paterson has also proposed using part of the Environmental Protection Fund, or EPF, to help close the budget gap. In the past, that money has been used to finance big conservation deals in the Adirondacks. Green groups want the state to buy tens of thousands of acres of forestland and add it to the Park's forest preserve. But as Brian Mann reports, a growing number of critics say land purchases should wait until New York's economy recovers.