Before Leaving Office, Gov. Pataki Announces Preservation of More Than One Million Acres; Northern Counties Suffer Population Decline.
On December 21, 2006, Gov. George E. Pataki announced that,
with the State acquisition of a conservation easement on 51,000
acres of forest lands in St. Lawrence County, he had brought the
total amount of land preserved in New York State over the past
twelve years to more than one million acres. The vast majority
of the land preserved for “open space” during the Pataki
administration is in the Adirondack Mountain region. The two largest
deals, both in the Adirondacks, were an agreement reached with
International Paper Company to acquire conservation easements
on 255,000 acres and purchase 2,000 acres, and the acquisition
of conservation easements on 111,000 acres and purchase of 29,000
acres from Champion International. The governor’s announcement
failed to mention the population declines in the Adirondack region
where the open space is being so ferociously protected. Hamilton
County, the least populous in the state, had the greatest percentage
decline, by 4 percent to 5,279. Herkimer, St. Lawrence, Essex,
and Franklin counties also suffered declines.
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