For more local news, check out the papers website, its free.
Thank goodness the state is helping us with open space. If it was not for them, developers would building on the land right now.
HUDSON HIGHLANDS – The State Parks Department and Scenic Hudson have agreed to add nearly 1,250 acres of open space along Fishkill Ridge to Hudson Highlands State Park.
The agreement calls for State Parks to purchase the Fishkill Ridge acreage from Scenic Hudson with close to $1.8 million in Highlands Conservation Act funding and $250,000 from the state’s Environmental Protection Fund. Scenic Hudson is donating more than $1.8 million worth of land value toward the sale.
Fishkill Ridge offers 11.5 miles of wilderness trails that allow visitors to walk beside a stream to a waterfall, scramble up rocks and step onto outcroppings.
“Fishkill Ridge is one of the Hudson Valley’s iconic landscapes, visible for miles around and offering the public some of the best hiking in the region,” said Scenic Hudson Land Trust Executive Director Steven Rosenberg. “Throughout the year, people come from New York City and all over to enjoy this remarkable resource, which also is contributing to the economic vitality of nearby communities such as Beacon and Cold Spring.”
In addition to the Fishkill Ridge purchase, State Parks has finalized the purchase of two parcels totaling 63 acres added to Clarence Fahnestock State Park. The $1.3 million in purchases were funded with equal shares from the Highlands Conservation Act and Environmental Protection Fund, and completed with the assistance of the Hudson Highlands Land Trust and the Open Space Institute.
