The Parks Department formed the natural resources group 20 years ago to acquire and restore parkland.

Mr. Hibbard said the $100 million proposed to acquire parkland is insufficient to meet the goal of Environment 2000, which is 140 acres of public recreation land for each 1,000 residents.

The current Land and Water Conservation Fund, which draws some $900 million a year from offshore oil and gas royalties, was originally intended to help governments at all levels acquire and develop parkland.

Acquiring additional parkland in Westchester should be a high priority of the county government, but linking existing properties, both public and private, is a creative alternative that deserves support.

From 1907 until 1920, legal battles to acquire parkland continued despite the 1907 Legislature passing a bill with language favoring railroads until courts rejected the legislation.

"I think the function of politicians should be to acquire parkland, not give it away," said Haber, who is enlisting the support of the Sierra Club.

For him, saving open space and acquiring parkland was paramount.

Among the significant additions are $269 million for a program to provide money for acquiring parkland and for a major reforestation effort across the country.

Mr. Rockefeller, the citizen chairman of the National Parks Foundation, a fund-raising group chartered by Congress, made clear that the issue was not acquiring parkland - the usual plea of environmental enthusiasts.

The Bloomberg administration has made acquiring new parkland a priority.