Assemblywoman Addie A.E. Jenne, D-Theresa, says a proposal to expand the state's trail system has merit, but she is calling for it to be expanded to include trail work in the Thousand Islands and St. Lawrence Valley region.

"The Empire State Trail System completely leaves out the St. Lawrence Valley and the Thousand Islands," Jenne said during a joint budget hearing earlier this week on environmental conservation issues.

She said her colleagues from Long Island had expressed similar concerns about the trail system plans included in the executive budget.

The proposal calls for completing the Hudson River Valley Greenway and Erie Canalway trails by 2020 to create the Empire State Trail.

The plan, according to a release from the governor's office, calls for the state to develop 350 miles of new trail in three phases to create a 750-mile pathway for hiking and biking.

The Erie Canalway, which would connect a trail system from Albany to Buffalo, is reportedly already 80 percent complete.

The Hudson River Valley Greenway is about 50 percent complete and already runs over 260 miles between the Manhattan Battery and Lake George.

The trail runs along the state Bike Route 9, which extends the Greenway an additional 130 miles along Lake Champlain to the Canadian border.

Jenne said any funding for a state trail network should not exclude the region that runs along the Canadian border along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.

"I find the current plan extremely unfair. We should be funding trail work in the North Country. The Seaway Trail has been struggling for many years and could use investment. There are other efforts to create trails on the shores of the St. Lawrence River that could benefit greatly from state funding," Jenne said. "At a time when we are using $90 million from NYPA's proceeds, including revenue from power generated at the St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project in Massena, to cover the costs of the Canal Corporation, we should be investing in trails in communities that have been most impacted by that project.”

Jenne pointed out she has attended tourism conferences in recent months involving participants from Canada and the United States and talked to tourism officials from both sides of the border. The need for a trail system that would connect the two countries along the shores of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River is a frequent topic of discussion. "Investing in hiking and biking trails would help grow tourism in the Thousand Islands and St. Lawrence Valley and would provide recreation options and public health benefits for North Country residents.”