Big Apple Beautification

©WCS/J.Maher

New York State leaders passed a $300 million budget for the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), to go into effect in 2009. This represents an all-time high for the fund, which benefits the health and wellbeing of New York’s environment and citizens. Operating support will increase for the Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium as part of the Zoos, Botanical Gardens and Aquaria (ZBGA) program. Programs and resources that protect clean water, open space, land stewardship, biodiversity, and endangered species also received a boost.

“We join our colleague organizations in thanking Governor Spitzer for his efforts in securing New York’s Environmental Protection Fund,” said John Calvelli, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs for the Wildlife Conservation Society. “Not only is the EPF critical to maintaining the quality of New York’s environment, but through its ZBGA program, this fund helps support the facilities that connect all New Yorkers to their environment, and that inspire our next generation of environmental stewards.”

The EPF was created in 1993 as a dedicated annual funding source for capital projects that directly benefit New York’s land, air and water. The new budget represents a $50 million increase from the 2007–08 state fiscal year’s EPF budget.

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