Fahnestock Adds 763 Acres

New parcels buffer Appalachian Trail

Fahnestock Memorial State Park continues to expand with the addition of 763 acres along its northern edge.

New York State announced on Oct. 4 that parcels of 530 and 233 acres would be annexed, with the former being one of the largest undeveloped parcels remaining in the Highlands. Acquiring the land had been a state priority for years because it buffers the Fahnestock portion of the Appalachian Trail, which stretches over 2,190 miles from Maine to Georgia.

It is unclear if new trails will be built, although an announcement by Gov. Kathy Hochul said the parcels will include access to the Appalachian Trail and Fahnestock.

The land was purchased for $3.64 million, half of which came from the state Environmental Protection Fund and half from the federal government as part of the 20-year-old Highlands Conservation Act, a law that authorizes the Department of the Interior to purchase land for preservation in the Highlands regions of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.

The smaller parcel was purchased from The Fresh Air Fund and the larger parcel, which is in Kent and bordered by 5.5 miles of Fahnestock, from a private seller. The Fresh Air Fund parcel makes a trail from the park to Fishkill Farms “one step closer to reality,” noted Seth McKee, executive director of the Scenic Hudson Land Trust, in a statement.

The 763 acres will count toward the state’s goal of conserving 30 percent of land and inland water by 2030. The federal government hopes to do the same at a national level. As of July, 22 percent of the state had been preserved.

The acquisition brings Fahnestock State Park, which is situated between the Taconic Parkway and Route 9, to 15,638 acres, or about 22 square miles. The park was named for Clarence Fahnestock, a casualty of World War I. In 1929 his brother donated 2,400 acres to the state as a memorial.