DEC chief focused on stewardship in lean times

Governor Paterson's proposed budget would vastly rein in what New York can do with its environmental resources. The plan would slash the Environmental Protection Fund by a third. It would put a moratorium on new land aquisitions. And it would cut the Department of Environmental Conservation budget by 11%. Many observers say the DEC never recovered from deep cuts in the 1990s. DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis was in Clayton last Friday to mark the completion of a brownfield clean-up on the St. Lawrence River. He told David Sommerstein his agency does face big challenges.