Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
(a) State
land projects which meet the minimum eligibility requirements as hereinafter
enumerated may be initiated in any of the following three ways:
(1) Department program staff. Staff
designated by the commissioner from various program areas within the department
will, on a continuing basis, identify, categorize and prioritize proposed State
land projects under each of the bond act categories.
(2) Property owner. Land owners who believe
that their property may meet eligibility requirements for State acquisition
under the bond act, and who desire to sell such property or an interest
therein, are encouraged to contact the department.
(3) Public participation. Any person who
wishes to participate in the implementation of the bond act may submit
recommendations for State land acquisition, preservation or improvement
projects to the department.
The ultimate selection decision on any State land project
will be made by the commissioner, who is charged by law with this
responsibility, regardless of the method of project initiation.
(b) Only certain State
land acquisition, preservation and improvement projects can qualify for funding
under the bond act. They are referred to as "forest preserve projects" and
"environmentally sensitive lands projects," each of which is more clearly
defined in section
591.2 of this Part.
Of the projects which qualify, there are some, for various reasons, which will
not achieve the objectives of preservation, enhancement, restoration and
improvement of the quality of the State's environment. In order to meet
statutory requirements, as well as these objectives, each State project must
meet the minimum eligibility requirements which are enumerated in subdivision
(c) of this section for forest preserve projects, and in subdivisions (d)
through (m) of this section for each type of environmentally sensitive lands
project.
(c) Forest preserve
projects.
(1) The proposed project must be
located within either the Adirondack or Catskill Park.
(2) The proposed project must be located
outside of the boundaries of an incorporated village or city.
(3) The proposed project must be located
outside of the Towns of Altona and Dannemora, Clinton County.
(d) Aquifer recharge areas.
(1) The proposed project is part of a local
groundwater protection program which includes provision for local participation
in funding land acquisition and which has been approved by the commissioner,
and adopted and being implemented by the appropriate local
government.
(2) A water supply
permit pursuant to title 15 of article 15 of the Environmental Conservation Law
must have been applied for. Such permit must be approved by the department for
the express purpose of taking the land proposed for acquisition prior to the
acquisition of the project by the department.
(3) An agreement between the appropriate
local government and the commissioner must be executed by the local government
and approved by the commissioner and provide for management by the local
government of the parcel acquired.
(e) Exceptional forest character.
(1) The proposed project is at least 10 acres
in size and contains old growth, defined as long-lived native species where the
average age of the dominant trees is at least 150 years. Long-lived native
species means any of the following: chestnut oak, swamp white oak, bur oak,
chinquapin oak, American basswood, white ash, atlantic white cedar, yellow
birch, sweet birch, pignut hickory, bitternut hickory, mockernut hickory, red
maple, black cherry, butternut, eastern hemlock, white pine, sugar maple, tulip
poplar, American sycamore, shagbark hickory, red oak, white oak, beech, red
pine, northern white cedar, black spruce, black walnut, red spruce;
or
(2) the proposed project is at
least 25 acres in size and is a natural area defined as a physical and
biological forest unit in as near a natural condition as possible which
exemplifies typical forest vegetation. The unit is maintained in a natural
condition by allowing physical and biological processes to operate, usually
without direct human intervention; or
(3) the proposed project contains forest
plants or a forest community that is rare or unusual. Rare or unusual is
defined as having less than 100 existing sites in New York State.
(f) Exceptional scenic beauty:
(1) the proposed project exhibits outstanding
arrangement of natural or man-made features (i.e., water features and/or land
forms and/or vegetation patterns) that provide positive stimulation, hold
interest and command attention of the viewing public; or
(2) the proposed project contributes to the
public enjoyment and/or appreciation of any established scenic
resource.
(g) Open
space. The proposed project consists of open or natural land in or near a urban
or suburban area necessary to serve the scenic, recreation or other related
needs thereof.
(h) Pine barrens:
(1) the proposed project is an addition to an
existing pine barrens area which is owned by the Federal, State or local
government, or a qualified not-for-profit conservation organization, and which
facilitates the ecologically appropriate management thereof; or
(2) the proposed project is large enough to
maintain itself as a pine barrens ecosystem and to permit effective fire or
other appropriate management necessary to the maintenance of the
ecosystem.
(i) Public
access.
(1) Access to public lands:
(i) the proposed project would provide a
parcel of land leading to public land which presently has no existing access
open to the public; or
(ii) the
proposed project would provide a parcel of land leading to a portion of public
lands which are presently inaccessible because of physical barriers;
or
(iii) the proposed project would
permit an environmentally acceptable through route for a foot trail or
vehicular access trail where the existing trail now ends; or
(iv) the proposed project would reduce the
length of an otherwise circuitous route facilitating public use of existing
public lands.
(2) Stream
rights:
(i) the proposed project would
consolidate or link together existing stream rights; or
(ii) the proposed project is on a stream
which supports, or is capable of supporting, viable populations of commercial
or sport fish on a year-round basis; or
(iii) the proposed project is on a stream
which is subject, or potentially subject, to seasonal "runs" of anadromous
commercial or sport fish, whether or not it supports residency of such
fish.
(3) Inland
waterway access:
(i) the proposed project is
of land which is physically contiguous to the waters of a lake, reservoir, or
river segment that is navigable in fact by any vessel, whether or not
mechanically propelled; and
(ii)
the proposed project is physically and environmentally developable.
(4) Tidal waterway access:
(i) the proposed project provides public
access to a salt water resource or network of salt water resources that lie
within the marine and coastal district as defined in section 13-0103 of the Environmental
Conservation Law; and
(ii) the
proposed project is physically and environmentally developable.
(j) Trailways:
(1) the proposed project must be legally and
physicaly accessible to the public, or be a portion of an identified trailways
project which, when completed, will be legally and physically accessible to the
public; and
(2) the proposed
project must be physically and environmentally developable as a
trailway.
(k) Unique
character:
(1) the proposed project must be
acquired for at least one of the following reasons: special natural beauty;
wilderness character; geological significance; ecological significance
including areas essential for the conservation of threatened and endangered
plant species; historical or archaeological significance; and
(2) the proposed project must be of a
character suitable for inclusion in the State Nature and Historical Preserve;
and
(3) the proposed project must
be located outside the Adirondack and Catskill Parks.
(l) Wetlands:
(1) Freshwater:
(i) the proposed project is a freshwater
wetland, with or without associated upland buffer, as defined in article 24 of
the Environmental Conservation Law; and
(ii) the proposed project must receive a
biological productivity score of eight or more according to the productivity
scoring chart, contained in section
591.4(l)(1)
of this Part; or
(iii) the proposed
project must possess one wetland value characteristic having a score of 8 as
enumerated in section
591.4(l)(1)
of this Part; or
(iv) the proposed
project must possess two substantially nonduplicative wetland value
characteristics each having a score of 4 as enumerated in section
591.4(l)(1)
of this Part.
(2) Tidal:
(i) the proposed project is a tidal wetland,
with or without associated upland buffer, as defined in article 25 of the
Environmental Conservation Law, located either in the marine and coastal
district as defined in section 13-0103 of the Environmental
Conservation Law or in the Hudson River Valley between the Governor Mario M.
Cuomo Bridge and the Federal Dam at Troy; or
(ii) the proposed project is of inventoried
tidal wetlands and associated upland buffer.
(m) Wildlife habitat. The proposed project
must contain the minimum geographic area necessary, together with associated
buffer, vital to the threatened or endangered species' continued use. The
project shall be either habitat of year-round resident species or important
seasonal habitat of seasonally resident species, such as breeding habitats,
wintering habitats in which a species spends an extended amount of time each
year, and major concentration areas of documented traditional and current
use.
