Proposed NY State Budget Cuts
To Impact Students, Families, Merchants and Communities

January 26, 2009 – New York – More than 40,000 messages have been sent to Albany asking that they do not unfairly cut state funding to living museums across the state, including the Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium.

Governor Paterson has proposed cutting the Zoos, Botanical Gardens and Aquariums (ZBGA) state budget line by 55 percent this fiscal year which ends March 31, 20009, and to cut it 100 percent in fiscal year 2010. The 55 percent cut would mean that the 76 organizations that are funded by the ZBGA would lose $5 million of the $9 million in this budget line this year and all of the funding next year.

“We are heartened by the response from all our supporters as they join us to send a message to Albany that by unfairly cutting state funding to zoos, gardens and aquariums, we will be unfairly cutting important education programs for millions of students and cutting funds to institutions that bring millions of dollars in commerce to our local communities," said John Calvelli, Executive Vice President of Public Affairs for the Wildlife Conservation Society.

The Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium, alone, pump $290 million into the economy and serve more than 600,000 school children annually.

On January 12, the Coalition of Living Museums (CLM) targeted by the governor's budget cuts released a homemade video featuring a porcupine from the Bronx Zoo (view on www.wcs.org). In the video, the porcupine is laid off, driving the message that the state’s budget cuts will affect the operations of all the living museums funded by ZBGA. The ZBGA budget line was created about 30 years ago to ensure that these institutions could afford to keep their plants and animals alive in difficult economic times. As of January 26, the video had more than 20,000 hits on
YouTube.

As Albany legislators and the governor continue to negotiate the state budget, the coalition continues to ask New Yorkers to contact the governor and other state legislators to protect these institutions by going to www.wcs.org.

The Wildlife Conservation Society saves wildlife and wild places worldwide.  We do so through science, global conservation, education and the management of the world's largest system of urban wildlife parks, led by the flagship Bronx Zoo.  Together these activities change attitudes towards nature and help people imagine wildlife and humans living in harmony.  WCS is committed to this mission because it is essential to the integrity of life on Earth.

Contact

Linda Corcoran – 718-220-5182 lcorcoran@wcs.org

Steve Fairchild – 718-220-5189 sfairchild@wcs.org