Orange County Land Trust announced on Jan. 11 that it had successfully acquired Sugar Loaf Mountain in the town of Chester with the goal of turning it into a new county park.
A local gem with a rocky summit and picturesque views, the 300-plus-acre mountain had long been in the hands of a private family despite development pressure.
The purchase will preserve the mountain as a public park for all to enjoy, and with a planned trail from the hilltop down to the Sugar Loaf hamlet, it has the potential to rejuvenate the local economy, according to Orange County Land Trust Executive Director Jim Delaune.
“This was a community-driven undertaking,” Mr. Delaune said to a cheering crowd at the Jan. 11 announcement event in Chester. “We pulled it off, and you pulled it off.”
“To me, it shows Orange County has a heart,” he said, referring to the many individuals, organizations, and companies that stood behind the land trust to make it happen.
Since the land trust entered into a purchase agreement valued at about $2.5 million with the Palmer family in June 2023, conservation organizations, foundations, and individual donors stepped up to chip in what they could.
Seth McGee, executive director of Senior Hudson Land Trust, illustrated why his organization financially supported the cause with a quote from former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson.
“‘The environment is where we all meet, where we all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share,’” he said at the event, noting that the purchase will result in a larger perpetual green space in connection with the nearby Goose Pond Mountain State Park.
More than $200,000 was raised from the larger community through a grassroots fundraising campaign.
“It was not a conventional commercial loan where there was a rent roll or other income-producing characteristics,” CEO Derrik Wynkoop said at the event. “But we had the quickest approval because it is just so important to keep these 309 acres forever green for generations to come.”
Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus, who had long been interested in preserving the mountain and played an instrumental role in the process, gave special thanks to the Palmer family.
Mr. Neuhaus resides in Chester and served as town supervisor before being elected county executive.
“If you drive on the Palisades in Rockland County coming into Orange County, you see houses built on a hill—it could happen,” Mr. Neuhaus said at the event. “[The Palmer family] didn’t have to do this; they could have looked at the almighty dollar and sold it [to a developer].”
“The land trust will not be successful unless we have a willing partner, and that is the property owners.”
Mr. Neuhaus told The Epoch Times that the county intended to purchase the mountain from the land trust and develop infrastructure such as trails and parking spaces for public access.
Other officials in attendance included state Sen. James Skoufis, state Assemblyman Brian Maher, Orange County Sheriff Paul Arteta, Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler, Orange County Clerk Kelly Eskew, Orange County Legislator Glenn Ehlers, Chester Supervisor Brandon Holdridge, Chester Councilman Robert Courtnay, and Tom Becker.
