News stories tagged with "nature-conservancy"

(04/27/12) This week, the Cuomo administration paid out roughly $1.5 million to land trusts across the state. The money will mostly go to help with administration costs and to fund internships.

In the Adirondacks, much of the land conservation debate over the last few years has focused on historic large-scale deals orchestrated by the Adirondack Nature Conservancy.

The Finch Pruyn and F ollensby projects could lead to the expansion of the Park's forest preserve by tens of thousands of acres.

But while those projects draw the spotlight, and the controversy, green groups say they're worried that smaller but important parcels of land are going unprotected. Brian Mann has our story. more

(03/22/11) The Adirondack Nature Conservancy has emerged in recent years as one of the largest owners of timberland in the North Country.

The green group uses certified logging methods designed to protect rivers and other sensitive ecosystems.

But a landowner in Essex County is accusing the Conservancy's tree-cutters of damaging a certified trout stream.

As Brian Mann reports, state officials have opened an investigation. more

(01/21/11) Last April, New York's Attorney General's office announced that it would begin a probe of the state's method of buying land in the Adirondack Park.

The investigation was requested by then-Governor David Paterson following allegations that the DEC had paid inflated prices to conservation groups.

As Brian Mann reports, state officials say that probe is now underway. more

(09/09/10) A strange kind of local trial is underway this week in Tupper Lake. Developer Michael Foxman and his partners are hoping to build the Adirondack Club and Resort on property that includes the old Big Tupper ski area.

But to gain permanent road access to more than 1200 acres of the resort property, the company needs legal rights to cross a small parcel of land owned by a neighbor. It turns out that neighbor is the Adirondack Nature Conservancy, which owns the Follensby Pond tract. The group hopes to sell the land to the state of New York to be added to the state forest preserve.

The Conservancy has said publicly that it doesn't want to sell or give away the access rights. So Foxman and his partners have begun a legal proceeding that could force the Conservancy to allow access to the road. The issue has sparked protests and an angry exchange in the Tupper Lake Free Press.

Brian Mann was in Tupper Lake yesterday and spoke about the case with Martha Foley.

(08/19/10) Six years after developers proposed building a massive new resort in Tupper Lake, the project appears to be back on track.

The Adirondack Park Agency has begun its final review of the environmental impacts of the ski-and-second-home development.

Some green groups say they're more comfortable with the scaled-back design, which still includes more than six hundred new homes, condos and mansions.

The Adirondack Club and Resort would also reopen Big Tupper as a commercial ski area.

Brian Mann attended a community meeting held last night by local boosters of the project. He has this update.

(05/13/10) The Adirondack Park Agency was created in 1971. In the decades since, a debate has raged over how the Park should be managed.

Specific issues change from year to year. But the basic battle lines over conservation, property rights, and economic development have long seemed carved in stone.

But now some observers say the budget crisis in Albany is changing all that, throwing into doubt some of the core ideas about the Park and its future. Brian Mann has our special report.

(04/22/10) This week we've been looking in-depth at the big conservation land deals that have been reshaping the Adirondack Park.

One of the most prominent groups opposing those deals is the Adirondack Park Local Government Review Board. Over the last year, the taxpayer-funded organization has made headlines, accusing environmental groups and state officials of improper and illegal activities. The Review Board has also led the fight for a moratorium on new land purchases.

As Brian Mann reports, critics and supporters alike agree that the group has emerged as one of the most influential voices on issues in the Park.

(04/20/10) This morning we begin a three-part series looking at the major land acquisitions that are reshaping the Adirondack Park. Hundreds of thousands of acres have changed hands in the Adirondacks, bought from private owners by New York State. This week we'll look at how those sometimes controversial deals are made, and who makes them.
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced earlier this month that they will investigate the 2008 purchase of 20,000 acres in Clinton County, and tomorrow we'll look at that current controversy.

Today, we start with the big picture.
Many of these big land deals have resulted from a close partnership between the state Department of Environmental Conservation and one environmental group: the Adirondack Nature Conservancy.
Supporters praise the partnership for facilitating protection of prized lakes, mountains and open space. Critics say the relationship is too close and warrants more scrutiny. Brian Mann has our story.

(04/08/10) The New York Post reported this week that the Adirondack Nature Conservancy reaped millions in profits from a land preservation deal with New York State. The story says the conservancy paid Domtar $6.8 million for the land, and sold it to the state for almost $10 million four years later -- an "absurd" profit as headlined in the Post.

The report is prompting reviews by the state attorney general's office into potential over-payments for the 20,000 acres in Clinton County. Martha Foley talks with Adirondack Bureau Chief Brian Mann.

(01/20/10) Governor Paterson's budget plan would slash also tens of millions of dollars from environmental and land conservation programs. In the proposal unveiled yesterday, state officials say new land purchases in the Adirondack Park should be suspended at least through 2012. The news comes at a time when the Adirondack Nature Conservancy is hoping to sell more than 50,000 acres of timberland to the state. Martha Foley has details.