December 6, 2003
Dear Fellow Woodstockers,
Fifteen years ago the Woodstock community came together and saved the Zena Cornfield. That was the first big project of a tiny organization called the Woodstock Land Conservancy. Today, we are thrilled to announce another exciting one-time opportunity to save what is considered by many of us the very heart of Woodstock: Overlook Mountain and Mount Guardian, its sister mountain. This is not our typical year-end appeal for next year's operating funds; we have a huge challenge before us, to make a huge difference for generations to come. Will you join us?
First let me briefly summarize two areas where our labors have borne fruit this year: Mount Guardian and Comeau. In April, we purchased a key parcel that came on the market, over 19 acres at the very top of the westernmost peak of Mount Guardian bordering 550 acres of very rugged forest owned by the Guild and the Town stretching from Byrdcliffe to Meads. Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of one nearby family, this purchase is one giant step toward our goal of keeping the Mount Guardian ridgeline and wilderness free of the visual scars of high-visibility development. And, on Election Day, Woodstockers voted decisively to approve a conservation easement on our very own “jewel in the crown,” allowing all manner of recreation and some municipal uses, naming the Conservancy to safeguard Comeau's permanent protection. Both of these successes were made possible by dedicated, generous citizens with long-range vision and passion for the wild, and we are deeply grateful.
HERE'S THE CHALLENGE: In 1988 the Conservancy was founded in our own version of the Big Bang, saving Zena Cornfield in a way that only Woodstock could do. Within a few weeks 550 pledges of $165,000 poured in - a feat other land trusts still find remarkable. Since then, we have worked more quietly on other projects that fulfill our mission to help preserve the mountains, streams, woods and open spaces most beloved by the community. In all those years, we have not come to you with another “Big Bang”. Until now: we need your help again, and we need it in a big way.
We live in a magic town, with magic meadows, streams, and mountains, and our most magic mountain is Overlook. Its dramatic rock face, seen all over the Hudson Valley, inspired the birth of the Hudson River School of painting in the 19 th century. The Native Americans believed this mountain was inhabited by guardian spirits. They stayed off of it, revering its wild beauty as sacred.
Today, as Woodstock becomes increasingly popular, Overlook's wilderness is shrinking. With the tremendous upsurge in development pressure in recent years (likely to be even more intense in the near future,) new houses have been springing up on Overlook. There are hundreds of acres of land available for development at the highest elevations of Overlook and Mount Guardian facing town. Imagine our mountains with dozens of new houses . If we do nothing this scenario is a distinct possibility, resulting in: visual blight on the very mountainsides that help define our sense of place; loss of habitat as once-unbroken wilderness is cleared for roads, driveways, septic fields, utility lines and homesites; severe soil erosion on already.
fragile steep slopes; and permanent loss of open space. The best way to prevent this from becoming a reality is to protect the land once and for all, and that is what we are trying to do.
HERE'S OUR PLAN: We are seeking to acquire (from willing sellers, of course) the last remaining vacant land on the upper reaches of Overlook . Our intention is to eventually add the land to the 590-acre Overlook Mountain Wild Forest within the Catskill Forest Preserve, thus keeping it on the tax rolls , and protecting it in perpetuity. In fact, as this letter goes to press, we are about to close on two properties totaling about 300 acres, and are talking to other interested property owners.
HOW CAN WE DO THIS? HERE'S GREAT NEWS: We are thrilled to announce that we have received a major capital commitment from a regional land trust, the Open Space Institute. In order to complete this project, which we estimate will cost about one million dollars, OSI has committed $650,000 to the campaign! Locally, we have to raise $350,000 . In other words, roughly speaking, for every $1,000 we raise with your generous help, we will have a total of $3,000 for Overlook.
Like the Woodstock Land Conservancy, OSI is also a nonprofit land trust, chartered under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. They work throughout New York State , with an emphasis on the Hudson River Valley from the Adirondacks to Westchester and Rockland Counties . Since its formation in the early 1970s, OSI has conserved over 70,000 acres for public recreation, access to the Hudson River , wildlife habitat protection, historic preservation and open space protection.
A number of Woodstockers have already pledged major contributions to this campaign. For this we need everyone's support to make this dream become a reality. There are several ways you can help:
- Please give as generously as you can to the campaign . Use the attached card, and feel free to call one of us to discuss your gift. For some of you, appreciated stock is most appropriate, or even a gift of real estate, or some other valuable asset. Be creative!
- Get involved . See the card for ways in which you can participate, including being on the Save Overlook Committee - Alf Evers is our Honorary Chair, and the list of neighbors keeps growing!
- Introduce us to folks you know – not necessarily only in and around Woodstock , but people who know and love Overlook and the Catskills, who may be eager to help us.
This is a very exciting moment, for the Woodstock Land Conservancy, for Woodstock and our neighbors, for Open Space Institute, and for people from all over the region and country – even the world – who come here to hike, to paint, to draw inspiration of every kind from this sacred, majestic mountain called Overlook. For as long as the Conservancy has been working to protect our most valuable land, we have been imagining this day. Just as the town gathered its strength to save the Zena Cornfield 15 years ago, with the passionate commitment and the boundless energy and generosity of Woodstockers and people everywhere who know and love Overlook, together we will make this happen!
On behalf of the Board and the Committee and future generations who will benefit by the work we all do, thank you for your extraordinary support of this effort.
Michael DeWan, President