For Trails and Kiosk at Laurel Hill Preserve in Minisink
The Orange County Land Trust has received a $5,000 grant from New York State Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther’s office for the building of trails and an information kiosk at the Land Trust’s Laurel Hill Preserve in the Town of Minisink.
Land Trust volunteers will begin work this spring designing a trail system that will showcase the variety of flora and fauna that abounds within this 89-acre natural area. A kiosk at the entrance to the preserve will house trail maps and provide information to visitors on what they can expect to see while walking the preserve. As with all ten Land Trust owned and managed preserves in Orange County, Laurel Hill will remain forever pristine and is open to the public, free of charge, for hiking, birding and nature study.
Laurel Hill Preserve is located along the Tunkamoes Creek. It consists of woodlands, an alfalfa field, wetlands and several vernal pools that create niches for a great variety of plant and animal species. In addition to protecting the Wallkill River watershed and these biologically diverse habitats, Laurel Hill Preserve has a high conservation value because of its location near other wooded and protected areas. These adjacent lands include Minisink Town Park and the historic Kezialain Farm.
Orange County Land Trust Executive Director Jim Delaune said that in addition to their scenic value, the protection of these lands is important to Orange County – helping to ensure a clean water supply, providing recreational opportunities that encourage healthy lifestyles, and protecting corridors of natural areas for wildlife habitat.
The Orange County Land Trust is the only county-wide land trust and to date has protected over 3,500 acres of land and working farms in communities throughout the county. Working with landowners who want to preserve their land, the Land Trust protects land by placing and monitoring conservation easements, securing funding for the purchase of development rights (PDR’s), accepting donations of land, and purchasing land for public access. The Land Trust works closely with Orange County Planning Office to help implement the county’s open space plan and spearheaded the formation of the Orange County Open Space Alliance (OCOSA), an alliance of 20 area conservation organizations.
For more information and for volunteer opportunities and ways of giving to the Orange County Land Trust, please call us at (845) 343-0840 or visit the website at oclt.org.
