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NYSACC is excited to highlight member projects, upcoming events, grant opportunities, and resources designed to support and strengthen
local conservation efforts.
We encourage you to forward this newsletter to your CAC, EMC, task force members, and others involved in your local environmental
efforts. Our contact list often includes just one primary contact, so forwarding this newsletter will
help keep your committee members informed.
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A Message from the President
NYSACC
Conference on the Environment
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Dear Fellow NYSACC Members,
I’m so glad to announce a date and location for our 2026 Conference on the Environment. For the first time in NYSACC’s history, we will be meeting in New York City on
Friday, October 30th
and Saturday, October 31st.
We have chosen a wonderful location - Cornell
Tech Graduate Campus and Research Center of Cornell University, on Roosevelt Island in Manhattan.
Some background: When NYSACC was established by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in 1972, NYC was specifically excluded from our geographic coverage. Unfortunately, our records
never indicated why this was done. However, we now have as members four solid waste advisory boards, representing Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, all appointed by their borough presidents. Consequently, our Board of Directors have changed our
By-Laws to now include New York.
Why Roosevelt Island is so special? Imagine being in the greatest city on Earth, but within a separate world insulated from all the hustle and bustle on an idyllic island sitting in the East River with outstanding
views all around. This slender island stretches approximately 2 miles in length and measures 800 feet in width. It can be accessed by automobile, subway, bus, ferry, and the only cable car in New York City. Upon reaching the island, you will discover a
harmonious blend of green spaces and modern living, showcasing a stark contrast to the urban environment just across the river.
The Cornell Tech Campus is “one of a kind”. It is New York City’s world-class tech destination. A thriving and inclusive community, a humming center of creative thinking, and a crossroads of research, education,
and innovation. We will be meeting at the Verizon Executive Education Center. This airy, modern, full-service venue offers convenience and
ample space – with breathtaking views. Designed by international architecture firm Snϕhetta, the Verizon Center blends high design and human-centered technology to offer an advanced meeting space for visionary leaders.
Our meeting day will be on Friday, and our site visits will be on Saturday. We are in contact with nearby hotels that offer comfortable and reasonably priced rooms set aside for our attendees.
It is our goal to make this an extraordinary experience. Further details will be coming out soon.
I hope to see many of you at the Conference!
Thanks,
Simon Skolnik
President NYSACC
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What to expect:
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Workshops on local environmental issues
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Peer-to-peer idea sharing
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Networking with agencies and nonprofits
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Field trips and site visits highlighting local conservation and sustainability projects
Date: October 30th- 31st, 2026
Location: Cornell Tech, Roosevelt Island
More informaiton about registration, sessions, hotels, and sponsonships coming soon via email and on
nysacc.org.
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Community News: Earth Day Events
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The Rivertowns Earth Month Scavenger Hunt was a collaboration in the spring of 2026 between six conservation commissions along the lower Hudson Valley—the villages of Irvington, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings-on-Hudson, Sleepy Hollow, Ardsley
and Tarrytown—locally referred to as “the Rivertowns,” to build a friendly competition among the area’s 53,000 residents, with the biggest winner being the Earth.
By combining gamification and an inter-village competition, the project encouraged residents to engage in stewardship and resilience-building behaviors while strengthening social cohesion and regional collaboration, and in the process
make climate action feel local, accessible, joyful, and community-oriented rather than abstract or overwhelming.
By all measures, this was a successful, broad-based regional resilience and behavior-change initiative.
You can read
more details here
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The Boonville Environmental Conservation Council (BECC) celebrated its 55th Annual Earth Day Community Cleanup this spring, bringing together local families, students, volunteers, and community partners for
a morning of hands-on stewardship in the Village of Boonville. Volunteers gathered downtown, put on gloves, grabbed bags and tools, and worked together to remove litter, brighten public spaces, and show what local conservation looks like when neighbors simply
show up.
The cleanup continues a long local tradition. Earth Day in Boonville is more than a one-day event; it is a reminder that environmental care starts at street level, with the sidewalks, parks, waterways, and
shared spaces people use every day. This year’s turnout reflected strong intergenerational participation, with youth volunteers standing alongside longtime community members and local organizers.
BECC extends sincere thanks to everyone who participated, helped organize, supported outreach, or encouraged young people to take part. The 55th annual cleanup was a visible reminder that small local actions
add up, and that a cleaner, healthier community is built by many hands.
Boonville
Environmental Conservation Council - Town of Boonville NY
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DEC Update: 30x30 Strategies and Methodology
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New York State has released the final 30x30 Strategies and Methodology document, outlining the next phase of efforts to conserve 30% of the state’s lands and waters by 2030. The update highlights the important role local governments
and partners have played in advancing conservation goals across the state.
Municipalities successfully conserved more than 2,260 acres between 2024 and 2025
through DEC’s Water Quality Improvement Projects (WQIP) Program and the Community Forest Conservation (CFC) Grant Program.
Successful grants include:
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The City of Port Jervis, with funding from WQIP, conserved 1,844 acres of forested wetlands, ponds, and several
streams that flow into city reservoirs—protecting surface and groundwater within the watershed and creating new recreational opportunities.
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The City of Middletown, with funding from WQIP, conserved 74 acres to enhance the riparian buffer around two
local ponds—reducing stormwater runoff and improving water quality.
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The
Town of Bethlehem,
with funding from CFC, conserved 69 acres to create a community forest—serving thousands of residents with recreational and educational activities and providing long-term ecological benefits for
the town.
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The Town of Germantown, with funding from CFC, conserved 23 acres to create a community forest—expanding public
recreation opportunities through an enlarged trail network and educational programming, all while preserving natural and historical assets.
Thanks to the efforts of the State and its partners, we conserved more than 36,240 acres since the 30x30 legislation was signed in 2022. This brings the estimated conserved area total in the state to 8,141,550
acres – 23.3 percent of lands and waters within the jurisdictional boundary of New York State.
If your permanently protected lands—either land held in fee or subject to a conservation easement—do not yet appear on
NYPAD’s interactive map,
help us make it count by completing this short
form.
Want to learn more? Review the NYS
DEC 30x30 Strategies and Methodology Final Document.
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The Ordinizer:
Member-Developed Tool for Advancing Conservation Ordinances
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The Ordinizer
is a new, online tool developed by software engineer Jon Garfunkel of New Castle, NY. It is designed to help conservation commissions analyze their municipal statutes to improve local environmental laws and codes.
The Ordinizer began with NYSACC’s “ordinance library,” a spreadsheet NYSACC developed to list conservation-related ordinances from around NYS for easy reference. To make the data interactive and more usable, Jon built an application
that utilizes standard techniques to download online statutes from municipal websites and then parses them using AI. The app can analyze laws by category and compare them by municipality and renders the results in a color-coded map.
Categories currently addressed include regulations around: trees & urban forestry, wildlife & habitat, gas-powered leaf blowers, wetland protection and weed management.
The tool is still in development and for now only covers Westchester County. It is a model that could easily include additional places, and there are several areas Jon would like to build out and improve. Please contact Jon at
jongar...@gmail.com if you'd like to expand coverage to your municipality, and if you have feedback to share.
Check it out at https://NYseeds.org/
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Have a question about projects, funding, or best practices? Submit it to “Ask NYSACC” at
communi...@nysacc.org
to see how we can support your community.
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Your Questions, Answered
Q:
How can we better “tell the story” of the impact of environmental groups across different efforts and initiatives?
A:
One of the ongoing challenges is not the work itself, but how we communicate it. Environmental groups are making meaningful contributions in many different ways, but it can be a challenge to connect
these individual stories into a narrative can help demonstrate the broader impact.
By bringing together stories, updates, and outcomes from across the membership, NYSACC can help illustrate how local actions contribute to statewide progress.
We’re interested in hearing from members: What tools, formats, or opportunities would help you share your work more effectively?
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Grants and Funding Opportunities
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Here are a few current or upcoming grants that may be a good fit for local projects, including deadlines:
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Conservation Connect is a monthly call designed to
share updates, ask questions, and connect with peers from across New York State. This informal conversation offers a space to exchange ideas, learn what others are working on, and get feedback on challenges in your community. Each call includes a brief NYSACC
update followed by open discussion, with members encouraged to bring project highlights, funding needs, opportunities, or emerging issues.
Open to all members, these sessions are flexible and welcoming—join when you can, listen in, or take part in the conversation as we continue strengthening connections
across New York’s conservation community.
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Board of Directors Meeting
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The Board of Directors held its first quarterly meeting in March, with several members gathering in person in Ithaca, New York, while others participated virtually. The meeting focused on strategic planning efforts for the organization,
including discussions centered on increasing membership and improving communication and engagement with members. Directors also reviewed priorities for the year ahead and explored opportunities to strengthen outreach and organizational growth.
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There are many ways to be part of the NYSACC network:
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Share a project or success story or event.
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Submit a question to Ask NYSACC.
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Encourage your municipality to become a member.
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Volunteer to serve on a NYSACC committee or the Board of Directors.
Together, we can strengthen and support local environmental leadership across New York.
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Annual dues are $75 for municipalities and nonprofit organizations.
If your dues are already paid for 2026 — thank you!
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Hit the button above or reply to this email and we’ll send it to the right clerk/finance contact.
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Please make checks payable to NYSACC and remit to:
NYSACC
PO Box 356
Katonah, New York 10536
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We're Getting More Social!
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Want more regular updates? Interested in learning about grants, events, member highlights, and conservation success stories from across New York State? Follow and engage with NYSACC on social media to stay connected, share ideas,
and see how communities are making a difference.
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New York State Association of
Conservation Commissions
P.O. Box 356
Katonah, NY 10536
https://nysacc.org/
in...@nysacc.org
Please share this message with your groups, commissions, and boards so we can reach as many interested individuals as possible.
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