One environmental protection group is praising Gov. Kathy Hochul final 2026 budget for New York state, but says there are still mounting concerns about the future and the impact of federal budget cuts.

With funding that impacts everything from creating new jobs, building the state's economy, to improved access to affordable child care and habitat preservation and protecting the environment, the state's 2026 budget includes articles that will affect virtually every New Yorker.

"I think this is a good budget in the context of what we're seeing coming out of Washington, D.C., where employees are getting cut from important environmental agencies, funding is getting slashed from the federal government," says Jeremy Cheros, who represents the nonprofit environmental protection group Riverkeeper.

The organization works to protect the Hudson River, its tributaries and the watersheds that provide New York's drinking water. The final budget allocates millions of dollars for habitat preservation, farmland protection, climate change and water quality projects.

"This budget from the state contains $500 million for drinking water, infrastructure, sewer infrastructure as well as a historic increase for the Environmental Protection Fund," Cheros points out.

The Environmental Protection Fund, a flagship program, will get a slight boost this year to $425 million, up from the $400 million in funding in previous years.

The money will go to the conservation of the state's lands and waters, which includes the historic 315-mile long Hudson River.

Although the newly approved budget is said to maintain a strong commitment to environmental conservation, Cheros says there is still mounting unease.

"We're still very concerned about what is coming out of Washington, D.C. Our state lawmakers, including the governor, have done the best that they could under these very challenging circumstances that are out of their control, but there is certainly a lot more that needs to be done," Cheros says.

For starters, Cheros recommends lobbying on both the federal and state levels.

"We are active in Albany making sure our state legislators know our concerns so they can relay that information to the governor, our senators and members in the House of Representatives," he says.