Terms Used In New York Laws > Environmental Conservation > Article 9 - Lands and Forests

• Adirondack park: shall include all lands located in the forest preserve counties of the Adirondacks within the following described boundaries, to wit: Beginning at the most southerly corner of lot 166 of the John Glen and 44 Others Patent in the line between such patent and the twenty-first allotment of the Kayaderosseras Patent; thence northeasterly along the said line and along the southerly bounds of John Glen and 44 Others Patent and of the Sanders Patent to the southeasterly corner of the Sanders Patent; thence continuing northeasterly along the division line between the twenty-second and twenty-fourth allotments of the Kayaderosseras Patent to the southeasterly corner of the twenty-fourth allotment of the Kayaderosseras Patent; thence northerly along the division line between the twenty-fourth and the twenty-fifth allotments of that patent to the northeasterly corner of the twenty-fourth allotment; thence easterly along the north line of the twenty-fifth allotment and the southerly lines of John Glen and 44 Others Patent, the Luzerne Tract and the Glen Patent to the southeasterly corner of the Glen Patent; thence northerly along the easterly lines of the Glen Patent and the Luzerne Tract to the northwesterly corner of the Queensbury Patent; thence easterly along the northerly bounds of the Queensbury Patent to the northeasterly corner thereof; thence southerly along the easterly bounds of the Queensbury Patent to the northwesterly corner of the Kingsbury Patent; thence easterly along the northerly bounds of the Kingsbury Patent to the southwesterly corner of the Artillery Patent; thence northerly along the westerly line of the Artillery Patent to the northwesterly corner of the Artillery Patent; thence easterly along the northerly bounds of the Artillery Patent to the southwesterly corner of the town of Whitehall; thence northerly along the westerly line of the town of Whitehall to the southern boundary of the town of Dresden; thence in a general northerly and easterly direction along the town line to the state boundary at the outlet of South Bay; thence in a northerly direction along the state boundary to the northeastern corner of the town of Peru in Clinton county; thence in a westerly direction to the low water line of Valcour Island; thence in a general northerly and westerly direction along the northern shore of Valcour Island to the northern boundary of the town of Peru; thence in a westerly direction along the northern boundary of the town of Peru to the eastern edge of the Delaware and Hudson railroad right-of-way; thence southerly along said eastern edge of the railroad right-of-way to the intersection of said right-of-way with the eastern edge of the right-of-way of U. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 9-0101
• Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
• Advisory committee: means the New York invasive species advisory committee established by section 9-1707 of this title. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 9-1703
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attorney-at-law: A person who is legally qualified and licensed to practice law, and to represent and act for clients in legal proceedings.
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Catskill park: shall include all lands located in the counties of Greene, Delaware, Ulster and Sullivan within the following described boundaries, to wit: Beginning in Ulster county at the intersection of the easterly line of the Hardenburgh Patent with the southerly bounds of the Rondout Reservoir; thence running southwesterly along the easterly line of Great Lot 4 of the Hardenburgh Patent to the southeasterly corner of lot one of the East Allotment, east division of Great Lot 4; thence northwesterly along the southerly bounds of lots one, 7, 8, 14, 17, 22, 26, 33, 37 and 46 of said East Allotment, east division of Great Lot 4 and along the southerly bounds of lots 67, 49, 48, 47, 46, 45, 44, 43, 42 and 41 of the Middle Allotment, east division of Great Lot 4 to the center of the Neversink creek; thence northerly along the center of the Neversink creek to the southeasterly corner of lot 37 of the West Allotment, east division of Great Lot 4; thence northwesterly along the southerly bounds of lots 37, 27, 22, 11 and 6 of said West Allotment, east division of Great Lot 4 to a point in the easterly line of the town of Rockland in Sullivan county; thence southerly along the easterly line of the town of Rockland in Sullivan county to the northeasterly corner of the town of Liberty; thence northwesterly along the northerly line of the town of Liberty in Sullivan county to the southwesterly corner of lot 120 of the East Allotment, middle division of Great Lot 4; thence northwesterly along the southerly bounds of lots 119 and 118 of the East Allotment, middle division of Great Lot 4 to a point in the center of the Willowemoc creek; thence westerly down the center of the Willowemoc creek to its confluence with the Beaver Kill; thence northwesterly down the center of said Beaver Kill to the southwesterly line of the town of Colchester in Delaware county; thence northwesterly along said southwesterly line of the town of Colchester in Delaware county to the westerly bank of the east branch of the Delaware river; thence along the westerly bank of the said east branch of the Delaware river and the westerly bounds of the Pepacton reservoir to its intersection with the mouth of the Bush Kill at or near the village of Arkville; thence up along the center of said Bush Kill to the New York Central Railroad; thence along the said New York Central Railroad easterly to the line between the counties of Delaware and Ulster; thence northeasterly along that line to the southerly line of Greene county; thence northwesterly along the southerly line of Greene county to the southwesterly corner of Great Lot No. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 9-0101
• Committee membership: Legislators are assigned to specific committees by their party. Seniority, regional balance, and political philosophy are the most prominent factors in the committee assignment process.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Control: means , as appropriate, eradicating, suppressing, reducing, or managing invasive species populations, preventing spread of invasive species from areas where they are present, and taking steps such as restoration of native species and habitats to reduce the effects of invasive species and to prevent further invasions. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 9-1703
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Council: means the New York invasive species council established by section 9-1705 of this title. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 9-1703
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Donee: The recipient of a gift.
• Ecosystem: means the complex of a community of organisms and its environment. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 9-1703
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• forest fire: is a fire which is burning forest or wood lands, or which, if permitted to extend, would burn forest or upon forest lands. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 9-0101
• Forest land: includes not only lands which may be covered with tree growth but also lands which are best adapted to forests. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 9-0101
• forest preserve: shall include the lands owned or hereafter acquired by the state within the county of Clinton, except the towns of Altona and Dannemora, and the counties of Delaware, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Oneida, Saratoga, Saint Lawrence, Warren, Washington, Greene, Ulster and Sullivan, except:
  
  a. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 9-0101
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• GIS: means geographic information system. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 9-1703
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Introduction: means the intentional or unintentional escape, release, dissemination, or placement of a species into an ecosystem as a result of human activity. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 9-1703
• Invasive species: means a species that is:
  
  (a) nonnative to the ecosystem under consideration; and
  
  (b) whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 9-1703
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Native species: means , with respect to a particular ecosystem, a species that, other than as a result of an introduction, historically occurred or currently occurs in that ecosystem. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 9-1703
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means any individual, firm, co-partnership, association or corporation, other than the state or a public corporation, as the latter is defined in subdivision 1 of § 3 of the General Corporation Law. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 9-0101
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Plan: means the plan developed pursuant to section 9-1705 of this title. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 9-1703
• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Species: means a group of organisms all of which have a high degree of physical and genetic similarity, generally interbreed only among themselves, and show persistent differences from members of allied groups of organisms. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 9-1703
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• transient dwellings: shall mean and include hotels, lodging houses, boarding and nursery schools, sorority houses, fraternity houses, college and school dormitories, convalescent, old age and nursing homes, and dwellings used for single room occupancy. See N.Y. Multiple Residence Law 50
• transient occupancy: shall mean the occupancy of a room for sleeping purposes by the same person or persons for a period of ninety days or less. See N.Y. Multiple Residence Law 50