The Friends of Dyken Pond are seeking to purchase a parcel of land bordering the existing nature preserve, that will help protect wildlife habitat for river otter, great blue heron nesting sites, fox, beaver, coyote and bobcat. This parcel will connect two existing parcels and add an additional mile of trail.
The Friends of Dyken Pond completed purchase of a 40 acre parcel on Newcomb Pond in the spring of 2014. A new trail is in place connecting the Center’s existing trails to this first Newcomb Pond parcel, although permanent trail markers still need to go up in 2015.
With the purchase of this second parcel, the Friends of the Dyken Pond Center will protect high quality beech, maple and hemlock forestland, a 9 acre pond, emergent wetland and forested shrub wetland. And there’s more! With the additional fifty-six acres, the trail to Newcomb Pond will be extended to connect to the existing Spring Trail forming a complete looped trail.
With this additional purchase, the protected open space corridor around the Dyken Pond Center will include 489 acres of private and public conservation lands. Acquisition of the new parcel also ensures that it remains a component of the open space of the Rensselaer Plateau, home of one of the largest forest blocks in New York State. These large forest tracts provide habitat for wildlife found at the Center that require large areas of unbroken forest, such as fisher, bear, moose, and porcupine.
Visitors to Dyken Pond will have access to fifty-six more acres for hiking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, birding, and Dyken Pond Center educational programs.
The Friends need help paying for it. They need to fundraise $100,000 to purchase this land, and are asking the public to help. Donations can be made by making checks to Friends of Dyken Pond and mailing to: 475 Dyken Pond Road, Cropseyville, New York 12052.
For more information about the Friends of Dyken Pond and the Dyken Pond Environemental Education Center, please visit our website at: http://www.dykenpond.org.
If you would like more information, please contact Friends President, Leonard Tremblay at bones0655@aol.com or 518.429-0393.