New York's Shawangunk Ridge. (NYNJTC.org Photo)

New York’s Shawangunk Ridge. (NYNJTC.org Photo)

The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference has purchased a key parcel of land that creates a protected corridor along New York’s Shawangunk Ridge.

The Trail Conference’s Long Path and Conservation committees work to secure a green corridor for long-distance trails before inappropriate development alters the experience along the Long Path and Shawangunk Ridge and Highlands trails forever.

The latest victory is a key 7.8-acre abandoned rail bed on the western slope of the Shawangunk Ridge near Wurtsboro, New York. Combined with other parcels the Trail Conference purchased in 2002 that connect the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area with Wurtsboro Ridge State Forest, the preserved area now totals 21 acres and creates a protected corridor that will move the co-aligned Long Path and SRT off of a 2-mile road walk.

Read more about the preservation of a critical link for trails along New York’s Shawangunk Ridge.