$2.5M LAND DEAL
Scenic Hudson buys Falling Waters Preserve from Dominican Sisters
After granting a fiveyear conservation easement for the Falling Waters Preserve to Scenic Hudson, the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill now have sold the property in this Saugerties hamlet to the Poughkeepsiebased environmental preservation group.
The sale of 149 acres off Dominican Lane was completed Jan. 23, according to a press release from the Dominican Sisters, a Catholic order that has owned and used the property as a vacation and retreat site since the early 1930s. In June 2010, the sisters entered into an agreement with Scenic Hudson that allowed for the formation of the Falling Waters Preserve. New trail systems were created to provide access to the site, while still maintaining the sisters’ privacy for their programs and retreats.
The preserve, which includes 3 miles of trails, opened to the public in July 2011. It features meadows and river bluffs, as well as two waterfalls and shoreline along the Hudson River. It also is the site of the former Mulford Ice House, an enormous, windowless structure that held
up to 10,000 tons of ice harvested each year from the river. The icehouse burned down in 1915, but portions of the foundation still are v isible.
Seth McKee, land conservation director for Scenic Hudson, said Friday the preserve property was purchased for $2.5 million, which he said is fair market value for the land. He said there are no immediate plans to add additional trails to the property.
“It’s just a real win for Ulster County and the Hudson Valley,” McKee said of the sale. He said the previous five-year agreement allowed the sisters to see what it would be like to live next to a public preserve.
The sister will be maintaining their retreat centers to the north and south of the preserve property, McKee said, adding that it has been rewarding working with the sisters because they have a strong spiritual and ethical devotion to the land.
Many people expressed appreciation for having access to the land, so the Dominican Sisters felt it natural to consider selling the preserve so it could continue to be shared and cared for in perpetuity, according to the press release. It goes along with the sisters’ land ethic, which is to uphold respect for the planet, human responsibility in caring for it and the belief that the Earth’s benefits are for everyone to enjoy.
“The Dominican Sisters, like many congregations today, find ourselves in need of new approaches to continue to meet our mission goals,” Sister Mary Murray, president of the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill, said in the press release. “Working with Scenic Hudson has proved to be a wonderful way to continue our mission with a different approach to meeting needs and of extending our mission for years to come.”
For Scenic Hudson, making Falling Waters Preserve a permanent protected place marks another success in its campaign to “Save the Land That Matters Most,” the release said. The initiative, launched in 2007, is a collaborative effort with fellow land trusts, governments, individuals, businesses and other groups to protect lands of the highest scenic, ecological and agricultural significance in the Hudson Valley. Scenic Hudson already has conserved 10,868 acres and its land trust partners an additional 2,649.
“Scenic Hudson thanks the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill for their commitment to the community, love of nature and willingness to work with us to create this very special place for the public to enjoy,” Scenic Hudson President Ned Sullivan said in the release. “People from all walks of life will find joy and inspiration here experiencing nature and all its treasures, and Scenic Hudson is honored to have worked with the sisters and the Esopus Creek Conservancy to make it all possible. I’m also grateful to the generous donors who assisted by providing funds for the purchase of the property and our staff costs for this and other vital projects. We salute our great partners on a terrific outcome.”
The preserve is open from dawn to dusk, yearround. It is located off Dominican Lane in Glasco, 3 miles south of the village of Saugerties.