One thousand acres of contiguous property located between the Shawangunk Ridge and the Catskill Forest Park have just been purchased and preserved in perpetuity by the Open Space Institute (OSI) in the Town of Wawarsing in Ulster County. This tract of land, dubbed the Shawangunk-Catskill Connector, was acquired for $2.3 million by OSI from T&T Associates, Inc.
“The first thing you notice is how quiet it is here,” said Matt Decker, OSI’s land project manager in the Northeast. One of the access points features a large billboard for a Beagle Club, which, according to Decker, is a group of local individuals who have been allowed to use the property to train their dogs to trap and catch snowshoe hares. The former owners, one of whom was Joe Teso, a local man who owned several pieces of land around town, were amenable to local clubs having access to the property.
Besides the Beagle Club’s shed and some old logging roads, occasional fencing and a few worn picnic tables, the land contains 2.7 square miles of contiguous forest as well as 300 acres of wetlands and the headwaters of the Brandy Brook and Fantine Kill streams, which flow to the Rondout Creek and ultimately the Hudson River. “It’s an absolute gem,” said Decker, noting that the land is also home to fox, coyote, black bear, deer and a plethora of flora, fauna and birds that thrive off wetland ecosystems.
Decker, along with Siobhan Gallagher Kent, OSI’s director of communications, took Hudson Valley One on a tour of the property this past weekend. “Vernooy Kill State Forest is right over there,” said Decker, pointing north from the property, “and the Shawangunk Ridge is over there,” he said, pointing towards the Village of Ellenville. Near the large wetland, known as Cedar Swamp, Decker was quick to point out that the name is a misnomer. “There are actually not cedars in this swamp but spruce and fir trees,” he said.
Kent said that one of the elements of the new acquisition that excited her was the natural ability of large forested areas to “sequester carbon dioxide and hold almost 15 percent of those emissions.” Nationally, forests and other land can absorb CO2 emissions in their “lungs,” helping in the fight against climate change. According to OSI’s data analysis, the property stores more than 92,000 metric tons of carbon, or more than 90 metric tons per acre, in soils and trees. In a 2017 report, the USDA Forest Service announced that, on average, forests in the US store about 85 metric tons of carbon per acre. “The Shawangunk-Catskill Connector property is heavily forested and stores and captures significant amounts of carbon: two key benefits protected and well-managed forests provide communities,” she said.
Besides this parcel being a critical environmental area, protection of land has been a goal of outdoor enthusiasts and regional conservation agencies for decades as they tried to find a green corridor to connect the Shawangunks and the Catskills: two large preserves that are separated by concrete. “Right now, we have the Long Path, but it requires people to walk for a few miles along the road. This gets us one large step closer to bringing these two parks together and creating more wildlife corridors, more regional trail connectivity, while protecting forested lands as well as watersheds,” said Decker. OSI has also played a critical role in the expansion of the now-26,000-acre Minnewaska State Park, helping to expand it, restore historic carriage roads and spearheading $3 million of funding for the design and construction of the new Minnewaska State Park Visitors’ Center.
Kim Elliman, OSI’s president and CEO, concurred. “With the permanent protection of this property, a years-long effort to link the Catskill Park to the Shawangunk Ridge is finally taking shape,” he said. “In fast-growing regions like Ulster County, it is becoming increasingly important for OSI to identify conservation opportunities, and act swiftly and with determination to save the land that matters for the health of our of our families, our communities and our planet.”
With several existing roads running throughout the property, the land has the potential to support multiple recreational uses, including hiking and mountain biking. Future trails on the property could eventually connect to an existing network of recreational trails and carriage roads, including regional trail networks that OSI is developing throughout the Hudson River Valley. It also makes the “green commute” a lot shorter than it was, bringing the 30,000 preserved acres of the Shawangunk Ridge to the 288,000 Catskill Forest Reserve even closer together.
Decker and Kent said that OSI is actively working with willing property-owners in an effort to expand this green corridor and all of the inherent benefits that come with it in terms of environmental protection, wildlife habitat and human recreation. They added that there is “potential” for further acquisitions that could help to fully unify the two preserves that were once one large landscape with seamless transition for wildlife and human under a green canopy.
With this particular project, OSI is partnering with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which they anticipate will eventually take over ownership and management of the property. “Our primary mission is land conservation, so we like to partner with those who are focused on land stewardship,” said Kent. DEC rangers were already on-site, becoming familiar with the parcel.
“Thanks to the significant connectivity this land acquisition will provide to the Catskill Park and the Shawangunk Ridge, New Yorkers will have new and enhanced opportunities for outdoor recreation ranging from hiking, biking, hunting and birdwatching,” said DEC commissioner Basil Seggos. “The DEC is proud to be working with the Open Space Institute in this partnership effort to protect state land and ensure that future generations of visitors have the chance to experience the scenic wonder of the region’s natural landscape, while also preserving sensitive habitats for wildlife.”
The property had already been identified by the Town of Wawarsing as a Critical Environmental Area and one that included a significant part of its local watershed. “The Town of Wawarsing is a Climate Smart Community, and OSI’s protection of more than 1,000 acres of forest and precious wetlands helps us accomplish our environmental goals,” said Wawarsing supervisor Terry Houck.
Rich Gottlieb, outdoor enthusiast, environmentalist and former longtime owner of the climbing and skiing equipment and apparel store Rock & Snow in downtown New Paltz, applauded the acquisition by OSI. “Connectivity is the name of the game,” he said. “Bringing the Shawangunks and the Catskills closer together creates a wildlife corridor to support the species that need continuous, almost uninterrupted land to thrive.”
The veteran rock climber, alpinist and hiker noted that “The expansion and joining of these two noticeably different areas is an amazing opportunities to experience them in a more holistic way. The rock strata are in striking contrast from one place to another, and the dwarf pitch pines of the Shawangunks are quite unique and very different from the dense Catskill forests. I’m excited to witness this firsthand as I will pass on foot from one region to another. Currently, in order to bridge the gap between the Gunks and the Cats, a hiker must walk many miles along a road, which is not particularly exciting or aesthetic. I’m not sure what our region would look like if it wasn’t for the amazing work of the Open Space Institute – as well as, of course, Minnewaska State Park Preserve, the Mohonk Preserve, the Mohonk Mountain House and the expansive Catskill Park and State Forest.”
OSI has partnered with all of these agencies as well as Scenic Hudson and the Wallkill Valley Land Trust (WVRT) and is responsible for the über-popular River-to-Ridge (R2R) pedestrian trail in the Town of New Paltz, which runs from the Village across the flatlands to the foothills of the Mohonk Preserve.
Asked how OSI funded this particular purchase, Kent noted that it came from the Wallace Fund, which was established in 2001 after OSI received a gift from the Lila Acheson and DeWitt Wallace Endowment, established by the owners and creators of Reader’s Digest. Lila lived in Mount Kisco for much of her life and was focused on beautification efforts and local parks. This money is specifically earmarked for land preservation in New York State.
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