P.O. Box 270
Accord, NY, 12404
The Shawangunk Mountains of New York stretch 50 miles from the New Jersey border at Port Jervis northeast to Rosendale in a series of parallel rolling ridges. Vertical escarpments face the southeast while the back sides of the ridges slope gradually northwestward to sink into fertile river valleys. In geological terms, the Shawangunks are part of the Younger Appalachians, created during periods of uplift, folding and faulting. Much of this area has remained unchanged since the retreat of the glaciers.
The Shawangunks mean different things to different people. You may be familiar with the Mohonk Preserve, a 6,400 acre preserve that surrounds the 129-year-old Mohonk Mountain House. Or you may have visited Minnewaska State Park Preserve, formerly the Lake Minnewaska Resort, and a state park since 1987. South of Minnewaska, the Sam's Point Dwarf Pine Barren Preserve, formerly the Ellenville Tract, is one of the most extensive examples of tectonic faulting in the United States.
These well known, protected lands total only 18,300 acres, barely one half of the natural and unspoiled lands that make up the Northern Shawangunks.
The Shawangunk ridgetop is an ecosystem of pitch pine barrens, dwarf pine plains, quartz conglomerate cliffs, slabrock and virgin hemlock forests. The area is home to many rare and endangered species. In 1994 The Nature Conservancy designated the Shawangunks as one of the 75 "Last Great Places" in the world.
Visitors come to the Shawangunks for a variety of reasons. Hiking on the extensive system of carriage roads and long distance foot paths, nature study, cross country skiing, mountain biking, and rock climbing are major attractions. Visitors come to enjoy a scenic natural area that is relatively untouched by development. And all of this is within two hours of New York City.
But, as more and more people discover the unspoiled Shawangunks, critical parcels still in private hands, from several acres up to 2,000 acres, are being considered for development. If these lands are developed, the scenic and ecological integrity of the larger preserved tracts will be seriously diminished.
Friends of the Shawangunks, through its advocacy efforts, and The Shawangunk Conservancy, through its land preservation projects, are fighting to preserve this exceptional area. Of the 31,500 acres that make up the Northern Shawangunks, only 58% are permanently protected through direct ownership or easements.
Join Friends of the Shawangunks. Your membership dues and contributions entitle you to receive our newsletter, filled with news and information about the Shawangunks. Your generosity will enable Friends to continue its important and necessary work in the Shawangunk Mountains.
Help The Shawangunk Conservancy with its ambitious and crucial goal of land preservation. Consider making a donation.
Individual annual memberships are $15, family memberships are $25. All contributions
are tax deductible.
Contributions can be made on the web via your credit card.
5/26/2003
Friends
of the Shawangunks is a member of the New York-New Jersey
Trail Conference
Last Updated: January 8, 2008