All posts by New York State Parks

2024 Centennial Celebration, history

Congratulations To The 2024 New York State Historic Preservation Awards Recipients

Leave a comment

Preserving our history is no small task. Whether someone is restoring a historic home, breathing new life into a warehouse through adaptive reuse, documenting and researching a building for a nomination to the State and National Registers of Historic Places, or restoring cemetery stones, a lot of time, money and creativity goes into preservation and documentation projects.

The Division of Historic Preservation recently recognized eleven outstanding projects with the New York State Historic Preservation Awards. This year saw the addition of the Joan K. Davidson Award. Joan was Parks Commissioner from 1993-1995; Chair of the New York State Council on the Arts from 1974 to 1977, and President of the J. M. Kaplan Fund from 1977 to 1993. She was a strong believer in historic preservation and an advocate for grassroots, collaborative efforts to preserve our shared history.

Without further ado, we proudly present this year’s 2024 New York State Historic Preservation Awards recipients!

Continue reading Congratulations To The 2024 New York State Historic Preservation Awards Recipients →
Flora & Fauna, Hiking, safety

How to Protect Yourself From Ticks

2 Comments

With the weather warming up, people are itching to get out and enjoy all that New York’s state parks have to offer. Unfortunately, there’s another thing that might get them itching – the bite of a tick!

According to the Centers for Disease Control, as many as 476,000 people in the U.S. contract Lyme disease, one of several tick-borne diseases found in the Empire State, every year. Considering there are countless cases that go unreported, it’s important to be aware of ticks and how to avoid them as we go out and enjoy nature. Here’s some information about ticks, and some ways to avoid being bitten.

A map of Lyme disease cases in the United States from a 2022 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.
Continue reading How to Protect Yourself From Ticks →
2024 Centennial Celebration, Park Volunteers, Stewardship

Volunteers Awaken “the Force” on I Love My Park Day

1 Comment

The Force was with our intrepid volunteers and friends on Saturday, May 4, 2024, as the 13th I Love My Park Day took place across New York. More than 150 state parks, historic sites, and public lands welcomed thousands of volunteers to help rake and plant flower beds, clear trails, paint benches, build birdhouses, clean up beaches and public spaces, clear away invasive species, and get the parks looking fantastic for the busy season ahead.

Cleaning bird feeders at Wellesley Island State Park in Fineview; painting fences at Genesee Valley Greenway in Western New York; planting at Connetquot State Park Preserve on Long Island.
Continue reading Volunteers Awaken “the Force” on I Love My Park Day →
Flora & Fauna, Park Projects, Stewardship

Environmental Stewardship At NY State Parks

Leave a comment

Environmental conservation was a driving force in creating New York’s state parks system that you know and love today. From protecting Niagara Falls from industrial development to preserving the views outside of Albany at Thacher State Park, our agency has been working to preserve our lands and make them available for public enjoyment since its founding. This simple mission has taken on a different meaning in the face of climate change and the shift to clean energy. Here are some ways we’re meeting the challenges of environmental conservation in the 21st century.

Shifting to Renewable Energy

New York State Parks is charged with shifting all operations to renewable energy by 2030, either through the purchase of renewable energy or through generating our own.

The solar array on the visitor center at Letchworth State Park in Livingston and Wyoming Counties.

Statewide, Parks operations consume around 45 million kilowatt hours of electricity (the same annual usage as about 4,000 homes). The agency currently has 50 solar arrays around the state generating more than 6MW, which help reduce carbon emissions and save money. This includes everything from roof-mount arrays to large ground-mounts built in pre-disturbed areas like the back of parking lots.

Continue reading Environmental Stewardship At NY State Parks →
Recreation, safety

Swim Safely This Summer

5 Comments

The days are getting longer, and it won’t be long before the swim season is here! 2024 kicked off with the exciting announcement of NY SWIMS: the largest investment in public swimming in nearly a century.

This multifaceted program seeks to provide all New Yorkers with access to safe swimming opportunities, particularly in underserved and heat-prone communities. It calls for new or revitalized swim areas at Sojourner Truth, the East Bathhouse at Jones Beach, and Lake Sebago at Harriman State Park. It expands our existing learn-to-swim program, supports lifeguard recruitment and retention, provides transportation to people who can’t otherwise access swimming, and includes grant funding for communities to build or renovate swimming facilities.

The NY SWIMS program also has a serious goal: to reduce childhood drowning. On average, 11 people drown every day in the United States during the summer. Drowning is the leading cause of death among children aged one to four years old in the United States, and the second-leading cause of death for children aged 5 to 14. Children with autism are 160 percent more likely to die from drowning. Other medical conditions also increase drowning risk. As you begin to plan your summertime swimming adventures, here are some tips to keep it safe.

Continue reading Swim Safely This Summer →