Building a Community of Conservation Throughout the Highlands
BUILDING A COmmUNITY OF CONSERVATION 2013 AnnUAL REPORT From the Chairman and Executive Director CHRIS DAVIS AND ANDY CHMAR Dear Friends and Neighbors, As our Land Trust enters its 25th year, What outcomes our programs achieved a variety of free forums, workshops we take pride in the accomplishments in 2013! Working in partnership with and outdoor events, led popular hikes achieved through our partnerships – local landowners, we preserved more throughout the region, and offered with landowners, other conservation land than in any of the previous 23 years, resources and expertise freely to local organizations, school districts, municipal increasing our protected acreage by 20% municipalities, often helping to create governments, local businesses, to over 2,100 acres, including our first positive community outcomes that might state agencies, and the many other conservation agreement in Highland otherwise have remained elusive. Perhaps “stakeholders” who embrace our work. Falls. We also added 50 acres, including most exciting, we assisted in the launch of This pride is tempered by a humbling Jaycox Pond, to Clarence Fahnestock the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail project, awareness of the depth of our Memorial State Park after acquiring it which will eventually connect Cold Spring commitment to those partners. We are the year before. Besides the public benefit to Beacon. This trail has the potential to often mistaken for an organization achieved through these and other recent have a transformational effect in the exclusively concerned with protecting preservation projects, every acre – both Hudson Highlands, equally benefiting landscapes. The truth is that, over the public and private – remained on the tax residents, visitors and local businesses.
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