Environmental programs protect outdoor spaces we love
FOR 750 MILES » from Buffalo to New York City to Champlain in the Adirondacks — the network of trails along the Empire State Trail provides New Yorkers with all kinds of outdoor recreational opportunities at a time when we need it most. These outdoor opportunities would not be possible without public funding and support from the Environmental Protection Fund.
The COVID-19 pandemic has driven a record number of us outside to see our families and friends, making clear our need for outdoor spaces that enable connection and respite. It also has made clear our reliance on the efforts put forward to preserve, protect and enhance the green spaces we already have, like the network of trails that now, together, make up the Empire State Trail.
Among the existing trails that have been linked together to form the Empire State Trail is the 13-mile Wallkill Valley Rail Trail in Ulster County. Before the pandemic, more than 100,000 hikers, joggers, cyclists, horseback riders were drawn to the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail every year, with that number rising in 2020.
Its popularity is driven in part by the unparalleled scenic views of the Shawangunk Mountains and the Rondout Creek, which flows 150 feet below the historic Rosendale trestle. The nearly 150-year-old span, added to the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail in 2013, was acquired and converted by the Open Space Institute and the Wallkill Valley Land Trust.
These are landmark destinations for outdoor advocates and for all New Yorkers.
Just like other vital, community assets, green spaces require maintenance and updates to stay safe, open and accessible. The creation and upkeep of spaces like Wallkill Valley Rail Trail are made possible with environmental funding. With help from the Environmental Protection Fund, the Open Space Institute, in partnership with the Wallkill Valley Land Trust and the Hudson River Valley Greenway, completed a $1 million project to dramatically improve the northern 9.5 mile stretch of the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail. The project, which took just a few months to complete, improves visibility, safety and access to the trail, including universal accessibility at major access points for people with disabilities.
As COVID continues to isolate us, we rely now more than ever on our outdoor spaces for our mental, emotional and physical health and as a way to stay connected. I’ve spent a lot of time with family and friends on the trail, biking in the summer and hiking in the cooler months. While the pandemic has changed a great deal about our everyday lives, my connection to nature has been a constant and a source of hope and relief over the last year. As I see more people than ever out on the trails, I know my experience is not unique.
Yet the benefits of our outdoor spaces go far beyond the health of New Yorkers. Environmental programs like the Environmental Protection Fund have a history of driving economic growth here in New York. Over the last 10 years, the state alone has invested $1 billion in our parks system, a venture that has given us $5 of economic activity on every $1 invested. It’s a symbiotic relationship to the fullest.
The network of trails that make up the Empire State Trail is a win-win: providing preservation of our social network and health, while bringing back our economy in a time of severe fiscal hardship.
New York is a national leader in every sense of the word. We’re a leader in infrastructure, in public health, and in the transformation to a green energy economy. Continuing to invest in environmental programs that protect and modernize our outdoor spaces to make them accessible for all New Yorkers is the right thing to do.
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