New York State leaders negotiate the annual budget every February, making it a great time to tell your representatives about the causes you care about and why funding them matters.

This year, Genesee Land Trust staff will head to Albany for 3 days to advocate for more farmland protection grants, increasing the budget for the Environmental Protection Fund, implementing the Environmental Bond Act, and fully funding the High Falls State Park coming to Rochester.

If these are topics you also care about, please consider calling and/or writing your representatives.

Find your NY State representatives:

Assembly Member Search | New York State Assembly: Search by address and click on results to get contact information.

Find My Senator | NYSenate.gov: Search by address and click on results to get contact information.

Some advice on writing to your elected official (from Grammarly):

Keep it under one page or five hundred words if you’re writing an email.
Address only one topic in your letter.
Include your home address.
If using email, send it to only one representative at a time.
State your subject clearly in the subject line or the first sentence of the letter.
Include facts.
Avoid personal attacks.

(Photo of Lake Ontario by Lap Chung)