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Issues & Action
New
York State Budget Created in 1993,
the Environmental Protection Fund is the State’s only
legally dedicated environmental funding source, providing
important resources to protect the state land, air and water,
so that future generations will benefit from a clean and healthy
environment. Audubon New York has joined with the Friends
of New York’s Environment, a coalition of over 200 diverse
organizations and over 4 million members advocating for increased
environmental funding.
Audubon New York strongly supports the
Friends of New York’s Environment Coalition position
of calling for a $500 million Environmental Protection Fund
(EPF) by 2010, backed by revenue from the expanded Bottle
Deposit Law and increased Real Estate Transfer Tax revenue.
The EPF provides important funding for a host of environmental
projects that protect and restore our air, water, wildlife
and open space resources. While the EPF has been increased
dramatically in the last few years, to a new high of $225
million, nearly $1 billion a year in new funding is needed
to meet the growing demands and needs to restore New York’s
Environmental Resources.
Based on the gap analysis preformed by
the Friends of New York’s Environment, these needs could
be met by either a new $2.5 billion bond or the further expansion
of the EPF to $750 million a year. These are just two possible
ways of providing the necessary funds to protect our environment,
and Audubon New York supports exploration of new, innovative
conservation funding mechanisms for the state and municipalities
to restore and protect bird and other wildlife species, and
the habitats they depend on.
- Click here
for Audubon New York’s Testimony on the 2007/2008
budget
For more information on Audubon New York's
Budget Priorities please contact:
Al
Caccese, Director of Conservation & Government Relations
Audubon New York
200 Trillium Lane, Albany, NY 12203
(518) 869-9731; Fax (518) 869-0737 |
