Senator Farley Announces Funds For Adirondack Research Library

Governor George E. Pataki and State Senator Hugh T. Farley have announced $100,000 in State funding to

assist in the completion of the Center for the Forest Preserve and

Adirondack Research Library located in the Town of Niskayuna, Schenectady

County at the former residence of the noted conservationist Paul Schaefer.

Mr. Schaefer passed away in 1996 at the age of 87.

The Governor made the announcement in conjunction with the official

dedication ceremony for the new Center, which takes place this evening.

"Paul Schaefer was one of the leading conservationists of the 20th century,

working tirelessly for the protection of his beloved Adirondacks throughout

his long and distinguished career," Governor Pataki said. "Paul would be

proud that his legacy of accomplishment and his extraordinary library of

works on all aspects of the Adirondack Park will now be permanently

preserved to inspire and lead the conservationists of the 21st Century."

The Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks (The Association) is

restoring the Schaefer home, built by Mr. Schaefer himself, and has

constructed a 4,000 square-foot library to house the Association's

Adirondack Research collection, a unique and valuable collection of works

depicting the natural, cultural and political history of the Adirondack and

Catskill Parks.

David Gibson, Executive Director of the Association for the Protection of

the Adirondacks, said, "The State funding that the Governor announced in

2002 and this wonderful new announcement combine to make $350,000 available

to complete a $1.6 million capital project. This impressive commitment by

the Governor and the State of New York will continue to inspire private

donations to this Conservation Center and Library."

The Association's Campaign Co-Chairman Joe Martens said, "We are very

grateful to the Governor, Lt. Governor, Department of Environmental

Conservation and others for recognizing our Center as deserving of public

support. It will enhance awareness and education about the Adirondack

region, its conservation and cultural history and the magnificent woods,

waters and wildlife of the New York State Forest Preserve."

Senator Hugh T. Farley said, "Paul Schaefer was a truly remarkable man, a

steward of the Adirondacks, and an inspiration to all who care about our

environment. His home and personal library, preserved and expanded by his

friends and admirers, is the physical manifestation of his legacy to New

Yorkers. As an admirer of Paul Schaefer, a fellow denizen of the

Adirondacks, and a Niskayuna neighbor of the Paul Schaefer House, I deeply

appreciate Governor Pataki's commitment and assistance to this project."

Assemblyman James Tedisco said, "All New Yorkers, and especially residents

of Schenectady County, owe a debt of gratitude to our former neighbor, Paul

Schaefer, who dedicated his life to the protection of the Adirondacks. We

are proud that the Center for the Preservation of the Forest Preserve and

Adirondack Research Library, housed in Mr. Schafer's home in Niskayuna,

preserves his legacy, continues his work and is open to all who believe in

conservation of our natural resources. I thank Governor George Pataki for

his commitment of $100,000 to this outstanding center."

Luke Smith Niskayuna Town Supervisor said, "The Town of Niskayuna is

pleased for the Governor's continued support of the Town of Niskayuna and

the Schaefer House. We feel that the research center will continue to

protect the wonderful Adirondack and Catskill Region that we share."

Among the goals of the Center and the Library are to advance conservation

education for those who have not known the inspiration of growing up with

nature by offering a series of educational programs, teacher training,

curriculum development, seminars and workshops, and establish a model

educational facility designed to be in harmony with its natural setting and

serve as a superior environment for adult visitors and school children.

In addition, the Center links its activities to the adjacent wildlife

sanctuary, owned by the Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club, containing trails and rich

woodlands, a superb example of suburban protected space, and a place where

concepts learned in the Center could be utilized in the field.

Schaefer worked closely with a wide range of individuals and organizations,

including Governors and legislators, sportsmen and women, labor unions and

garden clubs, to rally public support behind the preservation of the Forest

Preserve in the Adirondacks and Catskills.

Schaefer also worked with the founders of the National Wilderness movement,

and his personal and organizational activity on behalf of the Forest

Preserve and the wilderness movement is the subject of three books and two

documentary films. His commitment to natural resource protection earned

him dozens of State and national awards. In 1990, he earned the national

Alexander Calder Conservation Award. In 1998, Audubon magazine listed Paul

Schaefer as one of the 100 most prominent Conservationists of the Century.

The Center is located at 897 St. David's Lane in Niskayuna, Schenectady

County.

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