Latest Victories in Land Protection Campaign

82 acres along the Black Creek have recently been safeguarded as part of our campaign to Save the Land That Matters Most.Matt Shipkey

We’re really hitting our stride in the campaign to Save the Land That Matters Most. Recently we made three key acquisitions, building on previous efforts by us and our conservation partners to safeguard landscapes that play a major role in sustaining the Hudson Valley’s $4.5-billion tourism industry.

With the Town of Red Hook, Dutchess County, we purchased development rights to four adjoining farms, guaranteeing these 225-acres keep on contributing to the local economy. The farms abut properties previously conserved by us and the state, meaning 1,011 contiguous acres of scenic land spanning Columbia and Dutchess counties now is preserved forever.

By purchasing development rights on 82 more acres along Black Creek in Lloyd, Ulster County, we safeguarded impressive vistas for paddlers and conserved ecologically important vernal pools, swamps and woods. We’ve now protected nearly 1,000 acres along the creek, a prime waterfowl habitat.

Our purchase of 116 acres of forests, meadows and wetlands in Stockport, Columbia County, brings to almost 500 acres the scenic, biologically diverse land we’ve conserved there—all visible from our Four-Mile Point Preserve across the Hudson River in Coxsackie, Greene County. The acquisition completes a contiguous 1,200-acre swath of riverfront protected by us, the state and the Open Space Institute.

Since initiating our collaborative campaign last year, we’ve completed 12 transactions, conserving more than 1,100 acres. Our goal is 65,000 acres deemed to be of the highest scenic, ecological and agricultural significance.

Demonstrating our commitment to work with local governments to Save the Land That Matters Most, we’ve also provided funding to help five communities develop new or improved waterfront parks as a lasting commemoration of the 2009 Quadricentennial. Ranging from two to 80 acres, the parks are in Hastings-on-Hudson and Cortlandt, both in Westchester County; Nyack, Rockland County; Tivoli, Dutchess County; and Bethlehem, Albany County.