Forever forest

BEEKMAN, N.Y. There's a new forest in town. Thanks to multiple partners and the Highlands Conservation Act grant program, more than 500 acres along the Appalachian Trail in eastern New York are now protected in perpetuity as Grape Hollow State Forest.

State and local elected officials and staff from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Trust for Public Land, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gathered to celebrate the accomplishment.

The event also marked the 20th anniversary of the Highlands Conservation Act, which has protected more than 16,000 acres for people and wildlife throughout the 3.4-million-acre, four-state Highlands region.

Highlands 2.0

These are exciting times for the Highlands. Since Congress passed the Highlands Conservation Act in 2004, $123.4 million in federal, state, local and private funds have protected threatened and endangered species, ensured clean drinking water, created outdoor recreational areas and sustained working forests and farms in portions of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut.

The Great American Outdoors Act Great American Outdoors Act
This landmark conservation law, enacted in 2020, authorizes the use of up to $1.9 billion a year in energy development revenues for five years for needed maintenance to facilities and infrastructure in our wildlife refuges, national parks, forests, recreation areas and American Indian schools.

Learn more about Great American Outdoors Act , signed in 2020, gave the Highlands program a stable source of funds. The act authorized the use of $900 million in royalties from offshore oil and natural gas drilling sites to permanently fund the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, which provides grant money for the Highlands program.

And, in its 2022 reauthorization of the Highlands act, Congress approved using the best available science to identify eligible projects. This expands the program's potential reach to include 10 million acres and historically underserved communities. County and municipal governments can now receive grant funds and conserve lands when supported by state government and the Service's director.

Supporting habitat and hikers

In New York, two adjacent parcels - a privately held 405-acre property marked for development, known as Depot Hill, and 100 acres of upland forest within the Girl Scouts' Heart of the Hudson Chapter's Camp Ludington property - were acquired by The Trust for Public Land in 2023 and transferred to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in 2024.

Colleen Sculley, assistant regional director for our Office of Conservation Investment, and Jay Rasku, regional realty grants specialist, attended the Grape Hollow event, along with about 40 others.

"These properties contain habitat for many species of conservation concern, including forest songbirds, vernal-pool breeding amphibians and New England cottontail, which is at risk of needing Endangered Species Act protection, in addition to providing a scenic viewshed buffer for those exploring the Appalachian Trail," Sculley said.

The new state forest is a tribute to the Highlands Conservation Act grant program's ability to conserve lands, waters and wildlife and promote a sustainable, equitable future for all.

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