Contents
1) Creating Synergy between Nature and Nature
2) Gell Named Sterling Forest Park Manager
3) Sterling Fire Tower
4) Double Our Money
5) Notes about Our Partners
6) Sterling Forest Trail Building - Volunteers Needed
7) Appalachian Mtn Club Gathering
8) Sterling Forest Partnership Membership to 2000 - Join Now & Get 3
Months Free
9) Sterling Forest Fall Outings
This past June a passionate and thought-provoking presentation by lecturer, author and community planner Edward T. McMahon got a lot of people from the communities surrounding Sterling Forest and Orange County excited about the future of their towns.
With slides and dramatic examples of good and bad planning, Mr. McMahon illustrated how many communities around the country have capitalized on their positions as "gateways" to a significant protected natural or historic resource. By clearly defining their vision and setting specific guidelines, these communities were able to successfully attract new investors and achieve their aesthetic, as well as economic, goals.
It is in just this way that responsible stewardship of Sterling Forest Park needs to extend beyond its boundaries into the land and communities that surround it. Balancing Nature and Commerce in Gateway Communities, the recently published book that Mr. McMahon co-authored, provided the model for the Partnership to bring local community leaders and resource people together. Our goal is to seek ways of encouraging economic expansion appropriate to the open space character of the region. At the Tuxedo meeting Mr. McMahon noted, "While we’ve been saving landmarks we’ve been losing the landscape that give these landmarks their larger sense of meaning"
Working closely with the recently formed Tuxedo Economic Council, we were able to set up a meeting with the Supervisors of Tuxedo and Warwick, the Mayor of Greenwood Lake, Scenic Hudson, the National Park Service, Regional Plan Association and Ramapo College to enlist their help in exploring services they might provide. Ed McMahon’s presentation was the direct result of that meeting, financed by NPS under their assistance grant to Scenic Hudson.
Based on the keen interest shown by attendees at Mr. McMahons’s presentation, the NPS, Sterling Forest Partnership and Scenic Hudson will sponsor a series of forums throughout Tuxedo and Sloatsburg this fall. The objective is to stimulate local residents into creating a vision for the future of their communities and developing a plan to implement it.
By facilitating these kinds of exchanges the Sterling Forest Partnership is looking to the future by helping individuals and communities understand how active participation as good stewards of open space can be beneficial to all. Mary Yrizarry
Mr Jim Gell has been appointed as Manager of the Sterling Forest State Park. He comes with twenty years of experience in park management as he relocates from his most recent assignment as Manager of the James Baird State Park in Dutchess County. We welcome Jim to Sterling Forest and look forward to working with him and his staff.
In Sterling Forest we have a vantage point for broad sweeping views of the Highlands. The Sterling Fire Tower, built in 1922 by agreement with the Sterling Iron & Railway Company, tower was maintained for years by the New York and New Jersey Forest Fire Service. In later years the New York Department of Conservation operated the Sterling fire tower until 1989. Since 1990, this tower has been looked after by volunteer efforts of the Forest Fire Lookout Association, a non-profit group dedicated to the preservation of fire towers.
The Sterling Tower is located on the Sterling Ridge section of the Highlands Trail in Sterling Forest State Park. From the tower’s sixty foot cab you have a 360 view. The eastward horizon presents Jackie Jones and Diamond Mountains in Harriman State Park. West Point is to the north and on clear days the Catskill Mountains can be seen eighty miles away. On the western side of Sterling Forest you can see Bellvale and Bearfort Mountains and to the south Ringwood and the New York City skyline are visible.
The fire tower is only one of the treats in store for you as you hike in our newest state park. Join us for the Sterling Forest Fall Hike-a-thon and we will throw in some vivid color for your enjoyment.
For more information about how you can help with the Sterling Fire Tower maintenance project contact: Firewarden, Forest Fire Lookout Assoc., c/o Bob Spear, 33 Village Drive, Hamburg, NJ 07419-1124.
We need your help! The Sterling Forest Partnership is the recipient of two very generous "Challenge Grants."
Mr. Tom Thompson, a member of the Partnership’s board of directors, has contributed $5,000 to a challenge grant fund and the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference has added $10,000 more to be matched by other donors. We have already received several thousand dollars in matching funds, but the Partnership must still raise thousands of dollars to match these generous offers. You can help. Send your tax-deductible "challenge grant" gift to The Sterling Forest Partnership, 7 Spring Rock Dr., Goshen , NY 10924. Or if you would like to join our Partnership just check the additional contribution line when you send in the membership form below.
Lee Hackeling, NPS/AMC Technical Assistance Coordinator, has been working with the Sterling Forest Partnership for the past 3 years to help us develop an environmental education program with a strong emphasis on linking with the communities along the Appalachian Trail. Lee is moving west to follow other interests. The Partnership thanks Lee for her work in getting our Sterling Forest Living Map education project ready to launch and for her facilitating skills that have help us structure our organization. Lee, best of luck.
The Indian Hills section of Sterling Forest is getting a new trail. Help build this 3 mile loop trail and link with the Appalachian Trail.
Trail clearing work dates: September 13 , 20, 27, October 4 and 11, call Peter Tilgner or Susan Gordon at 201-871-3531 for information, meet at the Red Apple Rest at 9:00 am. Bring water, lunch, gloves and loppers.
Heavy-duty trail work on this loop trail will be done on the weekend of October 10th and 11th. OJT for trail builders will be provided. Call Claudia Ganze 212-633-1324 for more information.
The New York-North Jersey Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club invites you to the Second Annual Metro - New York Environmental Gathering, September 26-27 at beautiful Arrow Park next to the recently protected Sterling Forest State Park. The Gathering welcomes environmental, community and housing groups from the metropolitan New York region to learn about current and regional environmental issues and solutions, connect names with faces, share experiences and establish a firmer networking base. Arrow Park, with its former private mansion, offers simple accommodations in an Adirondack lake-like setting. A modest fee will be charged for the gathering and families can be accommodated. Public transportation is available from New York City and we will provide shuttle service from the bus stop to Arrow Park for certain buses.
The Second Annual Metro-NYC Environmental Gathering will provide an opportunity to combine work with play, through a combination of hikes, paddling trips and working sessions. Come join us to find out about brownfield restoration or planning a regional campaign or simply to enjoy the beautiful view from the Main House. Please preregister by e-mail or telephone, contact Kate Whitney Bukofzer at 718-733-2123 (evenings after 9 p.m.) etakwhit@aol.com or Ruth Dinerman, AMC at 413-442-9010.
Join or renew your membership in SEPTEMBER and you will get 15 months for the price of 12!
In order to standardize membership to a calendar year basis everyone who joins the Sterling Forest Partnership before the end of 1998 will automatically have their membership extended to January 1, 2000.
Name______________________________________
Address____________________________________
City____________________________ State_______
Zip_____________
Telephone_______________Fax________________
E-Mail_____________________________________
____Individual ($20) ____Student/over 65 ($15)
____Family ($30) ____Business/Patron ($250)
____Additional for Sterling Forest Protection Fund
____Total (All contributions are tax deductible)
Please make checks payable to: Sterling Forest Partnership
Mail to: John Gebhards, 7 Spring Rock Drive, Goshen, NY 10924.
Volunteer Opportunities:
___Educational Programs
___Research Programs (history/natural history)
___Recreational Outings
___Newsletter/Articles
___Art/Graphics/Photos
___Word Processing/Office
___Trail Maintenance
___Publicity/Com. Rel.
___Performing Arts (music/dance/storytelling)
For information and location for all outings call Mary Yrizarry at 914-783-4302 or John Gebhards at 914-294-3098.
- Saturday, Sept 26, 9:00 am - Sterling Forest State Park, National Public Lands Day
Call the SF Park Office to volunteer to help, 914-351-5907.
- Weekend, Sept 26 & 27 - AMC Environmental Gathering
See above for details.
- Saturday, October 10 - Sterling Forest Fall Hike-a-thon
Join in the fun and raise funds for support of education and research and the preservation of the rest of Sterling Forest. Call the Sterling Forest Partnership for details, 914-294-3098.
- Wednesday, Oct 14, 7:30 pm - Sterling Forest: Our Newest State Park
The creation of the 15,000 acre Sterling Forest State Park has protected a critical green link in our Highlands. Sterling Forest Partnership Executive Director, John Gebhards, will show the beauty of this region through slides and describe how you can now enjoy the park. At the Museum of the Hudson Highlands, Kenridge Farms, Route 9W, Cornwall, NY, call 914-534-7781. Fee $2 museum members, $4 non-members.
- Saturday, Oct 24 , 1 pm to 4 pm - Geology & the Iron Industry of Sterling Forest
Learn about the geology of Sterling Forest and how it relates to the historical iron industry of the Highlands. Members free, non-members $4 adults, $2 child (under 11). Meet at the Red Apple Rest.
- Saturday, Nov 14, 1:30 - 3:00 - Folklore & Landmarks of the Highlands
Folklore specialist, Ranger Andy Smith, will tell tales of the Highlands and show slides of prominent landmarks of the Highlands region. This will be followed by a field trip to one nearby historical site. Meet at the Sterling Forest Park information center on Route 17 just south of the Route 17A exit. No fee.