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NATURE PRESERVES
Discover a nature preserve and escape to the beauty of the great outdoors.
The nature preserves linked below are protected forever with WVLT conservation easements and open to the public year-round.
Please note each property has its own rules, but in general, the following apply:
– Please stay on the Trail at all times.
– No motorized vehicles permitted.
– Carry in-Carry out all trash.
– Pets must be on leash at all times.
– Please clean up after your pet.
– No installation or removal of amenities.
NYQUIST-HARCOURT WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
Located on Huguenot Street in the town and village of New Paltz, this 56-acre property has relatively open areas dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants. These provide rich and varied habitat opportunities for a wide range flora and fauna.
The Sanctuary includes an “oxbow,” a complex of ponds and wetlands remaining from a tightly-curved meander cut off when the Wallkill River straightened its course hundreds of years ago.
The Nyquist-Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary is owned and managed by the Wallkill Valley Land Trust.
If you would like to be a part of our volunteer team, sign up HERE.
If you desire to hold an event, you must review our event policy and application process, which can be found HERE.
You can help with the future management of the Nyquist-Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary, you can make a tax- deductible donation today.
Photo – Bill Hueston
MILL BROOK PRESERVE
Mill Brook Preserve is a 134-acre Nature Preserve in New Paltz open to the public from dawn to dusk. This preserve was created to protect open space, conserve biodiversity and wildlife habitats, allow the existing natural systems to provide flood protection, erosion control, drainage, and other natural functions, and to provide recreational and educational opportunities for residents and visitors.
PHILLIES BRIDGE FARM PROJECT
In 2003, WVLT partnered with OSI on a project with landowners Mary and Jim Ottaway, to permanently protect the 65-acre Phillies Bridge Farm Project, which also hosts a CSA and education organization that remains active today. The property is divided by a wetland corridor. A 1.5-mile interpretive nature trail winds through the hardwood forest in the western portion of the property, and the eastern portion consists of agricultural fields and greenhouses.
Our mission is to enhance the quality of life in Ulster County by conserving lands of scenic, agricultural, ecological, recreational, and cultural significance.