Special Announcement
Expanded Public Support for Forest Tax Law Reforms Remains a Challenge
The Adirondack Landowners Association is disappointed that efforts to streamline and enhance the New York State Real Property Tax Law, Section 480-a have temporarily stalled. Despite the initial request of the Governor for stakeholders to come together with the Department of Environmental Conservation and develop a consensus solution, the revised plan did not make it into the 2016 State-of-the-State/Budget message.
The current RPTL 480-a helps to preserve open space and sustain the forest products industry by providing landowners with property tax relief in exchange for a ten year commitment to keep lands undeveloped and in active forest management. The program creates what is in essence a 'rolling easement', which is a very appealing option for landowners who may be reluctant to give up important rights in perpetuity. Unfortunately, the current program is underutilized. Out of roughly 50,000 eligible owners in New York, only 3,300 are enrolled. This translates into only 1.1 million acres enrolled out of a potential 7 million acres. In addition, the current program puts costly and unnecessary administrative burdens on both the participants and the DEC.
The Adirondack Landowners Association, along with many other groups, has played an active role in developing forest tax law reform efforts. These reforms would have encouraged the best forest management practices, increased the eligible acreage and promoted forest practices that enhanced wildlife habitat and other environmental benefits. We were looking forward to seeing a substantial increase in enrolled acreage, both in the Adirondacks and across New York State. There is still time for legislative action this session to implement needed reform in the Real Property Tax Law. In the mean time, the tax burden continues to be a problem and millions of acres of forest lands across New York that could have been protected under the reforms will remain vulnerable to subdivision and development.
Read Op-Ed in Press Republican
ALA Spring Membership
Meeting...May 13-14, 2016
The ALA will once again hold its annual Spring Membership Meeting at Minnowbrook Conference Center in Blue Mt. Lake. The location is beautiful and it has all of the resources needed to host a great meeting. The dates are Friday and Saturday, May 13th and 14th, 2016.
We will have our usual Friday evening reception and dinner, along with special displays from ALA members about their properties. Saturday morning we are honored to have Joseph Schneider, Director of the NYS EnCon Police as our special guest. Joe will be joined by Captain Dan Darrah, Supervisor of the Region 5 ECO’s. They will make a presentation on the unique role that Environmental Conservation Officers play in protecting the land and waters of New York State. This presentation will be followed by our normal membership business meeting and lunch.
So please save those dates now and make plans to join your fellow members for a great event. Additional meeting information including reservation forms will soon be posted on the website...please check back for updates.
See ya in Blue Mountain Lake!
For information on Minnowbrook go to www.minnowbrook.org
ALA Featured in the NYS Conservationist
Adirondack Landowners...the Public’s Silent Partner
The ALA was recognized recently in a feature story which appeared in the NYS Conservationist. This article has been several years in the making and we are pleased that the private landowners in the Adirondack Park are receiving some well earned ink. The unique role that private lands play in the Adirondack Park is not well known to those outside the Blue Line. We are grateful for this opportunity to spread the news about the special partnership that exists in this special place.
