Janeway tapped to head DEC’s Region 3 office By LYNN WOODS

Janeway tapped to head DEC’s Region 3 office
By LYNN WOODS

William Janeway, director of government relations for The Nature Conservancy in New York state, has been appointed as the new regional director for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Region 3 office, which serves Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, Sullivan and Ulster counties.

Janeway is one of two new regional directors announced May 15 by DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis. The other is Suzanne Mattei, who will serve as regional director for the Region 2 office, covering New York City.

Since 1994, Janeway has served as the Nature Conservancy’s liaison in building partnerships with government agencies on cooperative environmental conservation development projects statewide. In the late 1990s, as executive director of the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission, he helped raise $23 million to expand the preserve and ensure the conservation of the rare inland pine barrens.

Subsequently, he was the executive director of the Hudson Valley Greenway Conservancy, focusing on projects designed to conserve the environmental and historic heritage of the Hudson River Valley as well as tap the region’s economic potential.

In his new position, Janeway said one of his most important initiatives would be addressing the problems of sprawl, climate change and invasive species. “We have the resources to better address these new threats to our way of life,” he said in a phone interview.

“The Hudson Valley is very close to sea level, so there could be real impacts from climate change. Also vulnerable are the forests of the Catskills, where New York City gets its water supply. Just this week, 7,000 trees were cut down in New York City after three Asian long-horned beetles were found. The aim was to stop them cold. Imagine the damage if the beetles”--which kill off trees--”hit the Catskills.”

“With the incredible pressure of development, we also have to promote smarter sustainable growth,” he added.

Janeway began his career at the Adirondack Mountain Club as a trails coordinator in 1985, later serving as the club’s director of North Country operations. He is a graduate of St. Lawrence University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics, concentrating on environmental studies.

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