Small piece of the preserved acerage
MOUNTAINVILLE – A total of 961 acres of undeveloped land in the Greater Sterling Forest State Park will now be preserved in perpetuity through a conservation easement.
The land was donated to the Town and Village of Tuxedo by Related Companies, developers of the proposed $900 million Tuxedo Farms project. In order for the New York City-based developers to move forward with their residential development, a separate portion of the land had to be donated to the municipalities and placed under a conservation easement.
Orange County Land Trust Executive Director James Delaune called the land critically important.
“This land is now owned by the town and village and will remain as open space for recreation and for conservation in perpetuity,” Delaune said. “This easement is consistent with the town’s municipal plan, the Orange County Open Space Plan and the New York State Open Space plan, too.”
The forest land is home to at-risk wildlife, including Timber Rattlesnakes
and Marbled Salamanders. The state’s 2016 Open Space Plan refers
to this region as “Greater Sterling Forest,” part of the 22,000-acre
state forest.
County Executive Steven Neuhaus said this newly preserved land represents “a win-win for everyone in the Tuxedo area.”
