Reforestation or Reallocation? What New York’s State Senate Bill S.4408 Means for Allegany County

In rural counties like Allegany, forests are not just scenery; they are infrastructure. They support tourism, define community identity, and represent decades of public investment in restoring land once deforested through excessive logging and worn out by agriculture. A new piece of legislation in Albany, however, may quietly change what those forests are for now. […]