ALBANY, NY (01/11/2008)(readMedia)-- New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Carol Ash today announced $8 million in grants awarded under the Zoos, Botanical Gardens and Aquariums Program (ZBGA) to support the development of educational, cultural and recreational programs that interpret New York’s natural heritage. “New York State is home to a large and diverse collection of rare plants, animals andsensitive ecosystems, many of which are endangered. This program provides valuable funding for organizations to develop critical educational and interpretive programs in order to raise awareness and appreciation of the importance of identifying, protecting and preserving our fragile natural heritage,” said Ash.

Senator Mary Lou Rath, Chair of the Senate Committee on Tourism, Recreation and Sports Development said, “The ZBGA is a vital part of our state’s tourism landscape. By supporting the programs that promote our state’s natural heritage, these funds are critical to the future of our community zoos, botanical gardens and aquariums.”

Assemblyman Steve Englebright said, “By supporting additional funding to the ZBGA Program, Governor Spitzer and Commissioner Ash have underscored their commitment to its vital educational and conservation mission. I applaud this thoughtful investment into the cultural treasures that are New York’s Natural Heritage Institutions.”

The ZBGA funding administered by New York State Parks and is available to public or not-for-profit organizations, which own, care for and interpret for the public living or preserved collections of biological specimens. The organizations, referred to as Natural Heritage Institutions, include zoos, botanical gardens, arboretums, aquariums, bird sanctuaries, natural habitat preserves and sciences museums, and nature and environmental centers.

Under the Agency’s program, ZBGA provides a minimum award of $5,000 and no more than 30 percent of the organization’s operating budget. In 2007, Governor Spitzer and the Legislature appropriated $8 million for the ZBGA program, a $500,000 increase from 2006.

Ash added, “Governor Spitzer recognizes the importance of natural resource stewardship and education,” noting that funding for the ZBGA remained stagnant for several years prior to 2007.

Programs need to meet the following criteria: establish well-defined program goals; be organized as a public or private non-profit institution and exist on a permanent basis to act as a living museum with a primary purpose of providing ongoing education programs; maintain a facility from which to operate and interpret the collection; and establish an organized and systematic program for care of the collection.

The following projects have been identified to receive a grant award:

Allegany Region Nannen Arboretum, Ellicottville (Cattaraugus) - $5,000.00

Pfeiffer Nature Center, Portville (Cattaraugus)- $5,000.00

Jamestown Audubon Society, Jamestown (Chautauqua)- $19,590.00

Central Region Cutler Botanic Garden, Binghamton (Broome)-$6,350.00

Ross Park Zoo, Binghamton (Broome)- $37,430.00

Lime Hollow Nature Center, Cortland (Cortland)- $7,060.00

Hamilton College Arboretum, Clinton (Oneida)- $5,000.00

Utica Zoological Society, Utica (Oneida)- $40,775.00

Council of Park Friends, Inc., Jamesville (Onondaga)- $1,510.00

Baltimore Woods, Marcellus (Onondaga)- $13,110.00

Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park, Syracuse (Onondaga)- $166,480.00

Rice Creek Field Station, Albany (Oswego)- $8,100.00

Amboy 4-H Environmental Education Center, Williamstown (Oswego)- $5,000.00

Finger Lakes Region

Tanglewood Nature Center and Museum, Elmira (Chemung) $8,675.00

Sonnenberg Gardens & Mansion State Historic Park, Canandaigua (Ontario)- $5,000.00

Cumming Nature Center, Naples (Ontario)- $124,435.00

Spencer Crest Nature Center, Steuben (Corning)- $5,000.00

Cayuga Nature Center, Inc., Ithaca (Tompkins)- $18,000.00

Cornell University, Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca (Tompkins)- $7,060.00

Cornell University, Raptor Program, Ithaca (Tompkins)- $5,000.00

Cornell University, Plantations, Ithaca (Tompkins)- $104,895.00

Genesee Region

Genesee County Park & Forest Interpretive Ctr, East Bethany (Genesee)- $7,410.00

Wild Wings, Inc., Honeoye Falls (Monroe)- $5,000.00

Genesee County Village & Museum, Mumford (Monroe)- $10,185.00

Highland Park Arboretum, Rochester (Monroe)- $86,740.00

Seneca Park Zoo, Rochester (Monroe)- $141,710.00

Beaver Meadow Audubon Center, North Java (Wyoming)- $10,085.00

Long Island Region

Friends of Bailey Arboretum, Lattingtown (Nassau)- $6,350.00

Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery & Aquarium, Cold Spring Harbor (Nassau)- $16,135.00

The Garden Conservancy, Cold Spring (Suffolk)- $6,500.00

Volunteers for Wildlife, Inc., Huntington (Suffolk)- $6,885.00

Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research & Prevention, Riverhead (Suffolk) $45,750.00

Sweetbriar Nature Center, Smithtown (Suffolk)- $13,615.00

Long Pond Greenbelt Nature Center, Southampton (Suffolk)- $5,000.00

Ward Melville Heritage Organization, Stony Brook (Suffolk)- $6,560.00

Niagara Region

Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens Society, Inc., Buffalo (Erie)- $43,420.00

Buffalo Society of Natural Science, Buffalo (Erie)- $119,050.00

Zoological Society of Buffalo, Inc., Buffalo (Erie)- $185,330.00

Aquarium of Niagara, Niagara Falls (Niagara)- $49,245.00

New York City Region

New York Botanical Garden, Bronx (Bronx)- $1,288,000.00

Wave Hill, Bronx (Bronx)- $187,450.00

Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx Zoo, Bronx (Bronx)- $2,433,000.00

Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn (Kings)- $646,000.00

Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment, Inc., Brooklyn (Kings)- $65,700.00

Wildlife Conservation Society, New York Aquarium, Brooklyn (Kings)- $722,240.00

City of New York Parks and Recreation, New York (New York)- $217,860.00

Enid A. Haupt Glass Garden, New York (New York)- $17,475.00

The River Project, New York (New York)- $5,000.00

Alley Pond Environmental Center, Douglaston (Queens)- $34,290.00

Queens Botanical Garden Society, Flushing (Queens)- $104,515.00

Staten Island Institute of Arts & Sciences, Staten Island (Richmond)- $33,800.00

Staten Island Zoological Society, Staten Island (Richmond)- $144,230.00

Palisades Region Black Rock Forest Consortium, Cornwall (Orange)- $14,020.00

Hudson Highland Nature Museum, Cornwall-on-Hudson (Orange)- $23,225.00

Mohonk Preserve, New Paltz (Ulster)- $82,960.00

Saratoga Capital District Region

The Nature Conservancy, New York Chapter, Albany (Albany) $277,370.00

Friends of Five Rivers, Delmar (Albany) - $5,000.00

Mountain Top Arboretum, Tannersville (Greene)- $5,825.00

Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center, Cropseyville (Rensselaer)- $5,550.00

The Children’s Museum of Science & Technology, Troy (Rensselaer)- $14,300.00

George Landis Arboretum, Esperance (Schoharie)- $12,085.00

Pember Museum of Natural History, Granville (Washington)- $6,885.00

Taconic Region Rheinstom Hill Audubon Center, Craryville (Columbia)- $5,000.00

Innisfree Foundation, Millbrook (Dutchess) $10,085.00

Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook (Dutchess)- $63,540.00

Trevor Zoo, Millbrook (Dutchess)- $23,250.00

Green Chimneys Farm and Wildlife Center, Brewster (Putnam)- $14,825.00

Constitution Marsh Audubon Center and Sanctuary, Cold Spring (Putnam)- $2,285.00

Manitoga, Garrison (Putnam)- $23,500.00

Lasdon Park Arboretum, Katonah (Westchester)- $15,130.00

Hammond Museum, North Salem (Westchester)- $5,000.00

Teatown Lake Reservation, Ossining (Westchester)- $45,010.00

Friends of the Rye Nature Center, Rye (Westchester)- $9,280.00

Greenburgh Nature Center, Scarsdale (Westchester)- $32,325.00

Thousand Islands Region

Friends of the Nature Conservancy, Inc., Fineview (Jefferson)- $5,000.00

Thompson Park Conservancy, Watertown (Jefferson)- $25,550.00

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Posted Friday January 11, 2008 at 10:33 am by New York State Office of Parks & Recreation