McDONOUGH – A bit of wind and rain didn’t deter Senator Charles Schumer from paying a visit to Bowman Lake State Park Wednesday.
“Our parks in Upstate New York are beautiful,” Schumer said Wednesday, during a lake-side press conference in which he lauded the New York State Park system and pledged to do his part to keep the state’s parks and historical sites open despite the state’s fiscal crisis.
According to the New York Democrat, the Land and Water Conservation Fund could be the answer to the state agency’s budget woes. The senator is pushing for the LWCF to be funded fully at $900 million as part of the New Energy Bill. Established in 1965, the LWCF’s purpose is to promote the acquisition and development of outdoor recreation areas, such as state parks.
“The solution we are proposing will not cost taxpayers a nickel,” Schumer said, as LWCF is funded by royalties from offshore oil and gas drilling activities.
According to the senator, the LWCF has only been fully funded twice in its 40-plus year history. During those times, he said, New York’s share was approximately $24 million. The state currently receives less than $1 million, he explained. Schumer said the increased funding would go a long way toward saving the parks and historical sites which narrowly escaped closure this year.
Hunts Pond and Oquaga Creek were two of the 41 state parks and 14 historical sites which received a last -minute reprieve by the Governor David Paterson right before Memorial Day. Bowman Lake State Park was one of 34 facilities on a secondary list of potential closures, whose survival hinged on the transferal of $5 million from the Environmental Protection Fund to help cover the cost of operating New York State’s Office of Parks Recreation and Historical Preservation.
Commerce Chenango President Maureen Carpenter and Chenango County Tourism Coordinator Audrey Robinson joined Schumer at the press conference.
“The Energy Bill supported by Senator Schumer, if passed at full allocation, will provide vital infrastructure upgrades to our parks and, most importantly, keep them open during these times of fiscal crisis,” said Carpenter, who commended the senator for his “pro-active approach” to preserving New York’s state parks.
According to the chamber executive, tourism is a major contributor to the local economy, supporting jobs and contributing to the tax base.
“Chenango County’s total visitor spending was just over $26 million last year,” she reported.
According to Robinson, more than 63,000 people visited Bowman and Hunt’s Pond last year, and many area businesses depend on these park patrons.
“For every dollar the state spends on parks, it gets back $5 in economic activity,” the tourism coordinator reported. “The majority of these dollars are generated from non-residential tourists.”
Robinson also stressed how well-maintained state parks contribute to the quality of life for those who live in and around Chenango County.
“These economic times do not justify closing the parks; in fact they require just the opposite,” she stated. “We especially need to keep our parks open to provide local options for families to spend time together and enjoy Chenango County and New York State.”