On Nov. 8, 2022, New Yorkers overwhelmingly approved the $4.2 billion Environmental Bond Act. State agencies, local governments, and partners will be able to access funding to protect water quality, help communities adapt to climate change, improve climate resiliency, create green jobs, and conserve farmland and natural areas (including working forests).
Bond Act funding will support new and expanded projects across the state to safeguard drinking water sources, reduce pollution, and protect communities and natural resources from climate change. This funding will augment the Environmental Protection Fund (part of the state’s budget allocation) to help local families and communities accelerate conservation initiatives.
The new Forest Conservation Easements for Land Trusts Program, administered by the Land Trust Alliance’s New York program, is an example of a new program funded by the EPF, that could be enhanced through Bond Act Funding. It offers competitive matching grants to qualified New York land trusts to fund the acquisition of conservation easements on forest land that will increase the pace of forested land conservation to combat climate change.