On August 14, 2026, Mohonk Preserve purchased the 174-acre Humpo Marshlands and Forest property from the Open Space Institute (OSI), with the Wallkill Valley Land Trust holding a conservation easement over a portion of the property. The deal was made possible by the New Paltz Community Preservation Fund – a source of funding that helped permanently preserve the property’s wetlands, forests, wildlife habitat, and iconic Shawangunk Ridge views. [Read more…] about Ulster County’s Humpo Marshlands and Forest Preserved
Wallkill River
Recently Upgraded Public Water Access Sites
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has expanded and enhanced several fishing and paddling access sites across the state, including those with universally accessible features.
Check out the list below for your next adventure: [Read more…] about Recently Upgraded Public Water Access Sites
Shawangunk Ridge Viewshed, Wetlands Protected
The Open Space Institute (OSI) has planned for the protection of 175 acres of marsh and forest land, including wetland areas, along Route 299 in the Towns of New Paltz and Gardiner in Ulster County.
When the owners of the Humpo Marshlands and Forest property decided it was time to figure out long-term plans for their family’s farm they called Bob Anderberg, OSI’s Senior Vice President and Strategic Conservation Advisor. Anderberg had reached out to the family more than 20 years earlier about preserving the land and had continued that dialogue over the years. [Read more…] about Shawangunk Ridge Viewshed, Wetlands Protected
The Wallkill River Railroad Bridge in New Paltz
The Hudson River Valley Greenway has recently committed $75,000 to support a historic preservation feasibility study for the 325-foot former railroad bridge over the Wallkill River at Springtown Road in New Paltz — a crucial connector on the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail (WVRT), which is part of the Empire State Trail. [Read more…] about The Wallkill River Railroad Bridge in New Paltz
Ulster County River-to-Ridge Trail Marks Millionth Visitor
The Open Space Institute (OSI) recently celebrated the one-millionth visit to its six-mile long River-to-Ridge Trail in New Paltz, NY. The Ulster County trail, which opened in 2018, has become well-utilized thanks to its easily accessible and central location, sweeping views, and year-round recreational opportunities. [Read more…] about Ulster County River-to-Ridge Trail Marks Millionth Visitor
National Wildlife Refuges in New York State: A Guide
The National Wildlife Refuge System began on March 14, 1904, when President Theodore Roosevelt established the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. Since then the system has expanded to include more than 570 different refuges. There are 13 National Wildlife Refuges in New York State: two in Western New York, two in the Lower Hudson Valley/Catskills region, and nine on Long Island. [Read more…] about National Wildlife Refuges in New York State: A Guide
The Borden Company’s Milk Condensing Plant in 1893
The following essay, “‘Crazy Uncle Gail’s’ Idea and What Came of It,” by Eliza Archard Conner, appeared in the June 10, 1893 Northern Star of Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. It was transcribed by Hudson River Maritime Museum volunteer George A. Thompson and annotated by John Warren.
About forty years ago Gail Borden, a civil engineer of New England ancestry, conceived the idea that milk could be boiled down in a vacuum till from the liquid condition it became substantially solid, and in that state, preserved by means of another Yankee invention — the sealed tin can — it could be kept for any length of time. [Read more…] about The Borden Company’s Milk Condensing Plant in 1893
Historic Huguenot Land: The Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary
The Open Space Institute (OSI), Historic Huguenot Street (HHS) and the Thomas and Corinne Nyquist Foundation have announced the preservation in perpetuity of the Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary, a 56-acre nature preserve located on Huguenot Street in the town and village of New Paltz.
OSI, through its land acquisition affiliate, the Open Space Conservancy, acquired the Sanctuary for $110,000 on June 21st from Historic Huguenot Street. HHS owns and maintains a National Historic Landmark District which includes a number of historic houses dating to the early 18th century set on ten acres in downtown New Paltz. [Read more…] about Historic Huguenot Land: The Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary
New Paltz: Moonlight Historic Harcourt Preserve Walk
Historic Huguenot Street and the Wallkill Valley Land Trust have come together with a unique and new offering in New Paltz, on Saturday, June 26th at dusk: a moonlight walk on the 54-acre Harcourt Preserve that borders Huguenot Street. As the sun sets and the moon rises, participants will enjoy a drink on the porch of the DuBois Fort before setting off to see the historic preserve as few do – by the light of the moon. Full moons were a much anticipated treat in the days before electricity – an opportunity for people to venture out at night and enjoy the ability to see by the light of the moon.
The tour will begin at 8:30pm at the DuBois Fort Visitor Center at 81 Huguenot Street in New Paltz with a toast to the rise of the full moon with a glass of sparkling cider or wine. The easy, flat one-and-a-half-mile walk is the perfect opportunity to experience the kind of summer nights the original inhabitants of Huguenot Street once did.
Advance reservations are not required, but are suggested. To make a reservation, visit www.huguenotstreet.org or call (845) 255-1889.
Historic Huguenot Street (HHS), located on the banks of the Wallkill River, is where small group of French-speaking Huguenots settled in 1678. Today, just steps from downtown New Paltz, the site features seven stone houses dating to 1705, a burying ground and a reconstructed 1717 stone church – all in their original village setting. HHS offers six acres of landscaped green space and public programming to the local community and visitors from around the world. For more information about Historic Huguenot Street, visit www.huguenotstreet.org or call (845) 255-1660.
Photo: Moonlight over the serene Harcourt Preserve along the Wallkill River in New Paltz.
New Paltz Talk: Early Hearths of the Hudson Valley
Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz is known for its unique architecture and for the preservation of the houses built by the community’s founding families. On Saturday, Huguenot Street continues its Second Saturday’s Lecture Series with a lecture by Rob Sweeney, local historian and old house enthusiast, titled “Early Hearths of the Hudson Valley.”
The talk will begin at 7pm on Saturday, February 13th in Deyo Hall, which is located on Broadhead Avenue between Chestnut and Huguenot Streets in downtown New Paltz. There is a $7 charge per person ($5 for Friends of Historic Huguenot Street). Refreshments will follow Sweeney’s talk. In the case of inclement weather, the talk will be postponed to February 20th.
Rob Sweeney is a board member of Hudson Valley Vernacular Architecture, the historian for the Town of Ulster and the owner of the Benjamin Ten Broeck House, a stone house built in 1751. His presentation will trace the evolution of the “jambless fireplace,” a style that dates to medieval Europe and which can be found in the houses of Historic Huguenot Street, to the popularity of the “Rumford Fireplace” of the early 19th century. Sweeney will also explore the role of tradition over comfort among the residents within the region.
Historic Huguenot Street (HHS), located on the banks of the Wallkill River, is where small group of French-speaking Huguenots settled in 1678. Today, just steps from downtown New Paltz, the site features seven stone houses dating to 1705, a burying ground and a reconstructed 1717 stone church – all in their original village setting. HHS offers six acres of landscaped green space and public programming to the local community and visitors from around the world.
Mastodon Tusk May Be Largest Ever Uncovered in NYS
Research under way at the New York State Museum indicates that a huge mastodon tusk, recently excavated by Museum scientists in Orange County, may be the largest tusk ever found in New York State. The nearly complete but fragmented tusk, measuring more than nine feet long, was one of two excavated this past summer in the Black Dirt area of Orange County at the confluence of Tunkamoose Creek and the Wallkill River, on the property of Lester Lain of Westtown. Museum scientists believe that the other less complete tusk, about 5-6 feet long, came from the same mastodon, which has been named the Tunkamoose mastodon.
Glen Keeton of Mount Hope, N.Y. and Chris Connallon of Hampton, N.J. came across the tusks in November 2008 as they were canoeing down the Wallkill River. Keeton contacted the Orange County chapter of the New York State Archeological Association, which then contacted the State Museum. Weather conditions delayed the excavation until this past
summer.
Since then, Dr. Robert Feranec, the Museum’s curator of vertebrate paleontology, has been researching other mastodon excavations in New York State. Feranec believes that the Warren Mastodon tusk, which is 8 feet, 8 inches long, is the longest one uncovered to date. It was discovered in New York State in the 1800s and is on exhibit at the
American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The tusk of the Cohoes Mastodon, on display at the State Museum, is about 4-5 feet long.
Based on the age of similar fossils, Feranec suspects that the tusks are about 13,000 years old. However, carbon dating results to determine the exact age, will not be available until later this year. In the meantime, the tusks have been taken apart to be cleaned and conserved for their long-term survival. It is hoped that eventually the tusks can be made available for scientific research and exhibits at the State
Museum and at a museum in the area where the tusks were found.
Abundant mastodon fossils have been found in Orange County, especially in the rich Black Dirt area which Keeton calls “a gold mine for these fossils.” Other fossils have also been found including those of giant beavers, stag moose, ground sloths, peccaries and reindeer. Several Museum scientists will be involved in an integrative research
project in the Black Dirt area where they will investigate the ancient environment in which the mastodon lived, as well as how that environment changed over the last 13,000 years.
“From my perspective, this is a significant find,” said Feranec. “These fossils will tell us more about the ancient history of New York. We hope to be able to reconstruct the environment in which the mastodon lived, as well as to try to understand why they went extinct.”
In 2007, Feranec oversaw the relocation of the Cohoes Mastodon from the State Museum lobby window to its new location in the Museum’s Exhibition Hall, where temperature and humidity levels are more stable and more conducive to the skeleton’s long-term preservation. The iconic Museum treasure is now the centerpiece of an expanded exhibition.
Discovered in 1866 near Cohoes Falls, the Mastodon once stood about 8 ½ feet tall, was about 15 feet long, and weighed between 8-10,000 pounds. Its tusk weighs 50 pounds.
Photo: During the excavation process in Orange County, Dr. Robert Feranec, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the New York State Museum, poses next to part of the tusk of a mastodon. (Photo courtesy of NYS Museum)