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Common Ground Alliance to Gather in Long Lake to Further Action on an Adirondack Blueprint LONG LAKE, N.Y. – The Common Ground Alliance of the Adirondacks will meet in Long Lake on Wednesday, July 18, to refine its Blueprint for the Blue Line plan for government actions that will assist the Park’s communities, their economies and the environment. More than 100 participants are expected to attend the event, including local, state and federal elected officials and their staffs. Prior to the 2006 election, the group sent its original "Blueprint" to candidates for statewide office, in an attempt to bring Adirondack Park issues to the attention of Legislators, Congressional reps and agency officials whose priorities are often heavily influenced by the desires of residents and voters in New York State’s densely populated cities and suburbs. The Common Ground Alliance grew from a small core group of local elected officials, economic development non-profits and environmental non-profits who asked the question: "What solutions can we offer for the Park that will benefit the communities, their economies and the environment?" Although the Adirondack Park has only 138,000 residents, more than 10 million visitors per year make the Park one of the state’s most important tourism destinations. It also protects a huge portion of the state’s fresh water, with 2,800 lakes and ponds, more than a thousand miles of navigable rivers and 30,000 miles of brooks and streams. About half of the Park is made up of "forever wild" Forest Preserve, which is protected from logging and development by the NYS Constitution. Those protections ensure the long term health of the Park’s forests and waters, but can be an impediment to traditional development and commercial activity on the adjoining private lands. The Alliance groups are coming together to find ways to nurture the environment and economy at the same time. "I believe this forum has a tremendous amount of potential. There is no hidden agenda; it’s simple: what can we all agree on as a common concern or goal?" said Long Lake Town Supervisor Gregg Wallace. "My hope is that we will establish a vision for the future of our communities and the Park. My personal concern has and continues to be that we are not sustaining our economies. We have to look at the survival of our communities." "The Adirondack North Country Association’s commitment to economically viable communities and a rural quality of life requires that we work together to identify a solution and an action agenda that work for our economy and our environment. We have welcomed our dialogue with the Common Ground Alliance beginning in 2006. We applaud everyone who takes the time on July 18 to define how we can fight for the things we agree upon for the betterment of our Adirondack Park communities," Terry Martino, Executive Director of ANCA stated. "This meeting in Long Lake signifies that the time has come that diverse interests in the Park - local government, community groups, and conservation organizations - are ready to speak up on regional issues with one Adirondack voice," said Zoë Smith, Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Adirondack Program. "The Adirondack Park has only about 138,000 residents, spread over 12 counties, covering more than 9,000 square miles. It is larger than Massachusetts, but has barely 1/40th of its population. So it’s easy for lawmakers and policymakers to write-off the region as politically insignificant," said Brian L. Houseal, Executive Director of the Adirondack Council, the Park’s largest environmental advocacy organization. "But the Park has a strong supply of well-run organizations that can help bring the needs of the Park and its residents to the forefront of the state’s priority lists. By working together on our common problems, we can send a stronger and clearer message to Albany and Washington, D.C. than any of us could manage on our own." "There are too few people in the Adirondacks for us to be sending mixed messages to our state and federal officials," said Lani Ulrich, founding Director, CAP-21 and local resident commissioner on the Adirondack Park Agency Board. "We need to determine our strongest mutual concerns including the most pressing external threats, get them down on paper and work with a unified voice to get attention for them." The Adirondack Common Ground Alliance core group is made up of Lani Ulrich; JR Risley, Inlet Town Supervisor; Gregg Wallace, Long Lake Town Supervisor and host of the forum; Terry Martino, Executive Director, Adirondack North Country Association; Zoë Smith, Adirondack Program Director, Wildlife Conservation Society; Ray Curran, President, Adirondack Sustainable Communities Inc.; Brian Houseal, Executive Director, The Adirondack Council. The Blueprint for the Blue Line 2007 Common Ground Alliance Forum will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Mt. Sabattis Pavilion, Long Lake. Long Lake Town Supervisor Gregg Wallace will host a complementary Long Lake Boat Tour for participants following the close of the Forum. Alliance Contact information: Adirondack Council: John F. Sheehan, 518-432-1770; 441-1340 (cell) ANCA: Terry Martino, 891-6200, anca-martino@northnet.org Adk Sustainable Communities: Ray Curran, 518-946-2445, rcurran@frontiernet.net CAP-21: Lani Ulrich 315 369-3353,ljulrich@frontiernet.net Town of Inlet: JR Risley, 315-357-2204,inletsupervisor@eagle-wireless.com Town of Long Lake: Gregg Wallace, 518-624-3001, llsuper@telenet.net WCS: Zoe Smith, 518-891-8872, zsmith@wcs.orgzsmith@wcs.org |
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