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Building a Community of Conservation Throughout the Highlands

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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. course of our first quarter-century, we rolls, benefiting their local municipalities have become an organization dedicated and school districts. We continue to face many of the same – like our partners – to one bedrock challenges seen at our founding in 1989. mission: preserving the communities in Our outreach and public policy programs Our work, however, continues to evolve which we work. In an integrated and continue to “reach out” in an extraordinarily as we create new opportunities that collaborative manner, we seek to promote, wide and diverse manner. We enhanced will define our communities. We hope preserve, and sustain this special place environmental education in five school that you will take the time to read the we are all lucky to call home. districts on both sides of the river, hosted names of the many people, businesses, foundations and volunteers who have made our work possible in 2013, and join us in thanking each of them for their important contributions. On behalf of all of us at HHLT, thank you for your ongoing support. We look forward to working with you to further preserve and sustain our communities over the next 25 years and beyond! Chris Davis Andy Chmar Chairman Executive Director HHLT BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2013 Mission Statement Table of Contents The Hudson Highlands Land Trust Building a Community of | 2 is a community-based, accredited Conservation throughout the Highlands land conservation organization Public Policy Update | 5 devoted to protecting the Going Wild in the Highlands | 6 natural resources, rural character Financial Report | 7 Looking Back | 8 and scenic beauty What’s Ahead | 12 of the Hudson Highlands. Get to Know Us | 13 The Hudson Highlands Land Trust is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in 1989 under Section 402 of the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law of New York. Published June 2014 Building a Community of Conservation throughout the Highlands “T he Hudson Fjord Trail wenty-five years of working with the Land Trust, the consortium to save what’s best about includes New York State’s Office of Parks, the Hudson Highlands have Recreation & Historic Preservation, its project presents an taught us a good deal about what Department of Transportation, Scenic could be better. In recent years, the Hudson, Open Space Institute, the Towns Hudson Highlands Land Trust has made of Philipstown and Fishkill, Village of opportunity to alter it a priority to work with groups and Cold Spring, Philipstown Greenway and individuals interested in finding ways the City of Beacon, as well as Metro- the typical practice to boost the economy in our mission North Railroad and many local “Friends” area while preserving the scenic and groups. Thanks to the generosity of an environmental integrity of the Highlands. anonymous donor, the Hudson Highlands for public projects. In the last twelve months, we—and a Land Trust has contributed funds totaling group of committed partners—have been $139,000 to pay part of the cost for This effort has already united over a dozen organizations, from civic groups and land trusts to m un icipal governments, to PROPOSED AREA OF FJORD TRAIL work collaboratively working on a project that promises to add preparation of a professional master immeasurably to both the enjoyment and plan and feasibility study. Says Town of the prosperity of our Highlands. Philipstown Supervisor Richard Shea: to make the “The Fjord Trail is an unbounded plus Fjord Trail Project for the Hudson Highlands, and for the The Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail will link people who have had limited access to Trail a reality.” Cold Spring to Beacon; when completed, the Hudson Valley because they have to it will dramatically improve the safety of be both hale and hardy to hike up the side the thousands of hikers who flock to climb of a mountain. The jobs that will come Breakneck Ridge, despite the shortage of with the construction, the added tourism safe parking and the hazardous conditions it will bring—it will be transformative, and of the walk along Route 9D heading north the only thing I can’t understand is why it from the Village of Cold Spring. Along hasn’t happened before now.” And Town 2 of Fishkill Supervisor Bob LaColla offers: preserving the entire 129 acres. Scenic Conservation Area and the Hudson “The Hudson Fjord Trail project presents Hudson and OSI had been co-owners of Highlands State Park, while simultaneously an opportunity to alter the typical practice Mystery Point since 1990. preserving a popular campground on for public projects. This effort has already Fishkill Ridge. “Malouf’s Mountain Sunset united over a dozen organizations, from Malouf’s Mountain Sunset Campground” comprises 51 acres; civic groups and land trusts to municipal Campground Scenic Hudson acquired 29 acres, which governments, to work collaboratively to Scenic Hudson also partnered with HHLT will be transferred to New York State make the Trail a reality. HHLT has been a to add substantially to the Fishkill Ridge as an addition to the adjoining Hudson Highlands State Park, while HHLT holds a conservation agreement on the remaining 22 acres owned by Richard Malouf, where he plans to continue offering camping facilities to hikers and climbers. “We are particularly happy to partner with Dick Malouf to preserve this beautiful landscape, while also supporting a local business,” said HHLT Executive Director Andy Chmar. Mr. Malouf, who has owned the site since 1980 and used it for hunting deer, squirrels and turkey, has created a campground where hikers can stay in comfortable tents, supplied with firewood and food. Mr. Malouf meets them at a Metro-North Station and brings them to the trailhead, “This land was never going to be developed as long as we owned it, but I’m getting to the point where it’s noble steward by providing the critical organizational and financial support needed to move this world-class project L EGACY LANDSCAPES PROJECT toward construction.” Preserving our iconic views, cherished lands and vital natural resources The magnificent natural beauty of the Hudson Highlands, coupled with its proximity to Mystery Point Manhattan, has always made this region a desirable target for developers. The subdivision As noted above, the Land Trust had a of larger parcels into smaller residential lots is the greatest threat to our beautiful and unique busy 2013 working with landowners area. These subdivisions increase density and erode the rural character and natural beauty of to protect the scenic values of their our communities, as well as threaten our natural resources, causing further fragmentation of properties through donation of voluntary delicate ecosystems. conservation agreements (also known The Hudson Highlands Land Trust established the Legacy Landscapes Project in 2011, a as conservation easements). These plan that identifies parcels throughout the Land Trust’s mission area that are important donations are increasingly complex land protection priorities. Based on a comprehensive analysis of resource functions on all and often involve other conservation parcels within the HHLT mission area, this initiative focuses our land preservation efforts to organizations working as partners. implement appropriate conservation solutions for those landscapes deemed too important to The 129-acre Mystery Point property in risk. The Land Trust is working in partnership with private landowners, regional conservation Philipstown was sold to Jon Stryker of organizations and government agencies, including the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Kalamazoo, Michigan, and New York, in Historic Preservation and Department of Environmental Conservation, to achieve these goals a three-way collaboration that involved over the next several years. Open Space Institute (OSI), Scenic Hudson and the Hudson
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