Park Advocacy Day

Thank you for joining us for Park Advocacy Day 2022

On Thursday, March 10th via Zoom, with 52 individuals representing 20 Friends groups, 7 partner organizations, and 5 state park regional commissions, we accomplished 25 virtual legislative meetings. This would not have been possible without you.

Thank you for making the 16th anniversary and the second virtual Park Advocacy Day a memorable and successful event.This event gives us the opportunity to interact with the state’s decision makers on a personal level and give a voice to the parks, historic sites, and public lands that we love and strive to protect.

2022 Legislative Asks

Governor Hochul’s FY 2023 State Budget proposes the most ambitious investment in parks, trails, and the environment in decades by increasing the Environmental Protection Fund to a record $400 million, increasing the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Bond Act to $4 billion, and proposing a $200 million capital investment in State Parks. The proposed budget also includes a 15% increase in the operating budget for State Parks, ensuring that all visitors continue to have access to safe and welcoming outdoor places for recreation and respite. Park Advocacy Day gave us the opportunity to work with the Legislature to ensure that this historic proposal for the state's parks, trails and public lands is included in the FY 2023 Adopted Budget, and that New York continues to provide the nation's premier outdoor recreational opportunities to its citizens and visitors. Read more about our 2022 advocacy priorities here.

Your Impact--Thank You!

Partner Sign-On Letter

Thank you to the 50+ partner organizations that signed-on in support of our legislative asks this year. Demonstrating a wide range of support for these asks will help us secure the critical and historic investments proposed in Governor Hochul's 2023 executive budget, ensuring that New York continues to provide the nation's premier outdoor recreational opportunities to its citizens and visitors

Support for a $2 Million Park and Trail Partnership Grant

Thank you to all Friends groups of NYS parks, historic sites, and public lands who demonstrated support for an increased Park and Trail Partnership Grant Program to $2 million dollars by sharing your stories about how these grants have impacted your site and community. We received some incredible testimonials from every corner of the state and are encouraged by how much this funding has impacted your organizations and the lands that you steward. We will be sending this video montage (below) to legislative leaders as a follow-up to Park Advocacy Day.

Additionally, as a result of your efforts, we sent 500+ letters to NYS legislative leaders in support of the $1 million increase for the Park and Trail Partnership grants. Thank you to all who took action and sent a letter via our online campaign