White Paper - New York State Office for the Aging

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
Program Considerations and Issues
Environmental Regulations and Compliance
• Traveling to access regulatory records will probably become unacceptable when
there is a higher percentage of people with limited mobility.
• Building new facilities to serve an older population (e.g. hospitals, elder care
centers, golf courses, marinas) will increase demand for DEC technical assistance.
• Achieving compliance with environmental laws and regulations will increasingly
involve cross-cultural communication.
Outdoor Recreation and Wildlife Management
• An increase in the number of older New Yorkers, will likely result in an increase of
people with disabilities. This could create more pressure for accessible recreation, as
well as for opportunities to participate in field sports and outdoor activities. In
addition to accessible facilities, requests could include permits for motor vehicle
access to wild areas, special parking and roads.
• When disabled-access requirements conflict with natural resource concerns,
determining appropriate uses of public property and administering public recreation
programs will require more negotiation.
• More retirees with leisure time may increase demand on existing facilities, but these
facilities may also offer multiple-use opportunities during hours when younger
people are at school or work.
• More people will be physically unable to handle nuisance wildlife and will be
looking for support from public agencies.
Education/Information
• Communications will require a variety of media that are easy to read, easy to
understand, and accessible to people with limited physical mobility or visual acuity.
Management Issues
Volunteer Opportunities: The growing pool of retired individuals may make
additional resources available to the Department.
Work Force: Institutional memory, fundamental program knowledge and highlevel
skills will be lost to state government as valuable personnel retire from the state
work force. The result will be a greater need to document and transfer knowledge and to
improve training for current and new staff.
Facility Maintenance: More program resources will be required to maintain
Americans with Disabilities Act-level accessibility at recreation facilities.
Responses that DEC has Already Made to the Aging and Diversification of the
State’s Population
• Removing obstacles to accessibility by using new facility and trail designs and
constructing more hiking trails that are short and easy to use. As facility
rehabilitation is implemented, Americans with Disabilities Act-level accessibility
improvements are being added.
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