 DEC facilitated the State’s acquisition and protection of more than 65,000 acres of forested lands in the Adirondacks, including the Essex Chain of Lakes, OK Slip Falls, and Boreas Ponds.The 20,758-acre Boreas Ponds Tract, purchased in the spring of 2016, will be open to the public for the first time.DEC and the State Department of Health (DOH) chair New York’s Water Quality Rapid Response Team, created in 2016 to evaluate drinking water supply threats across the state, assist communities with water testing and provide technical assistance to ensure universal access to clean drinking water.