Saugerties has character. Lots of character. There is a bustling main street, lots of shops, views of both the mountains and "the river," a really neat lighthouse, boating on the Hudson and on the Esopus creek, a garlic festival, jazz festival, mum festival, and even a new horse show that draws thousands of people to the area. Now, thanks to the hard work and dedication of many people, Saugerties has its own 156-acre nature preserve in the heart of the community - the Esopus Bend Nature Preserve.

Like so many projects, this one began with a phone call. Saugerties resident Susan Bolitzer called The Catskill Center in August, 1999, to ask for help in protecting from potential development an important piece of property along the Esopus Creek in Saugerties. Little did we know then that we were embarking on a five-year journey to protect this piece of land - a journey full of unique twists and turns, unexpected events, hope, dismay, and lots of partnership-building. Behind it all was the steadfast desire and vision to protect this unique property as an educational and recreational resource for the community. This vision finally became a reality when The Catskill Center purchased the land in March 2004, on behalf of the Esopus Creek Conservancy (ECC), a new land trust in Saugerties. The Esopus Bend Nature Preserve was born.

The Esopus Bend lies on the banks of the Esopus Creek, just above the dam in Saugerties, and is bisected by the Saugerties town and village line. It is located behind the Barclay Heights residential community. The property can be seen from the Saugerties village beach directly across the upper Esopus Creek and from the Rt. 9W bridge. Because the property is located along a large bend in the creek, there is an amazing 6,400 feet of frontage on the upper Esopus Creek proper, and another 3,500 feet of frontage in a wetland cove. The cove contains a 44-acre freshwater wetland, and the upland area of the property consists of riparian floodplain, regenerating hardwood forest and shrub meadows, vernal pools, a limestone ridge, and some small tributaries flowing through hemlock ravines. The diverse land cover and habitat types make this area a haven for a variety of wildlife: song birds; herons; ducks and geese; turkey; deer; fox; beaver; turtles; frogs; salamanders; and even coyotes and eagles.

Local writer and historian, Vernon Benjamin, has researched the Esopus Bend Nature Preserve's storied and peopled past. He tells of the land being used as a settlement and fishing area by Native Americans, and then later as a farm and even a place to collect turtles for food. For many years the community knew this place as the Shroeder Farm, and there were active crop fields and orchards. The farming activity has long since been abandoned, and the property has grown wild. In 1999, the property was put up for auction by its owners, the Keyser family. A local philanthropist bid at the auction on behalf of The Catskill Center, but the price went too high. The prospective sale to the high bidder eventually fell through which ultimately opened an opportunity for new negotiations with the landowners. A purchase price was reached, and a group of concerned local citizens, led by Susan Bolitzer, came together to form the Esopus Creek Conservancy Project and began raising the necessary funds. The Conservancy was assisted by CARES, another local organization working in Saugerties. Fundraising efforts began in earnest, with lots of public support for the project. Mayor Yerrick and the Saugerties Village Board of Trustees even agreed to waive back tax penalties owed to the village if the land was sold for conservation purposes. In a turn of good fortune, many months of hard work raising money and waiting nervously was cut short when Town Supervisor Greg Helmsmortel, Congressman Maurice Hinchey, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers arranged to have Horse Shows In The Sun (HITS) principal Tom Struzzieri provide funding for the acquisition, thereby ensuring permanent protection of the wetlands on the property as part of a wetlands mitigation settlement.

Shortly after The Catskill Center acquired the property, the Esopus Creek Conservancy officially received their 501(c) 3 non-profit status, and The Catskill Center will transfer ownership of the new preserve to ECC, who will manage it for the long term. The Catskill Center will retain a conservation easement on the property to ensure that the land will always be maintained largely in its undeveloped condition and managed as a nature preserve open to the public. The easement will allow for limited parking on the edge of the property, a modest environmental education building, a small wooden boathouse for canoes and kayaks, information kiosks, a wetland boardwalk, and foot trails. There are many raw trails now on the property that will form the basis of an improved public hiking trail system.

Currently, the Esopus Bend Nature Preserve is temporarily closed to the public while preparations are made to make the property safe and user-friendly. This includes removing some junk cars and other debris, creating a small parking space, erecting new signs, and marking and clearing the first official trails. The Esopus Creek Conservancy expects to have the property ready to open to the public in the coming months. Eventually they hope to conduct a detailed biological inventory of the preserve, develop a comprehensive management plan, continue with trail improvements, and begin conducting educational activities for school groups and the community. To volunteer for these or other ECC activities, please go to our Get Involved page and sign up. Volunteers are always welcome and appreciated.

Protection of this property has certainly benefited from a tremendous amount of community support and volunteerism, and will continue to do so in the years to come. There is no question that the Esopus Bend Nature Preserve, located in the heart of Saugerties, will come to enjoy a special place - in the hearts of the people of Saugerties. It will grow and mature with the care and attention of those who are its stewards, and it will have much to offer those who take the time to learn from it and enjoy it. There is still much to do, of course, but the Esopus Bend Nature Preserve is already on its way to becoming a centerpiece of environmental education and public enjoyment in the mid-Hudson Valley.

This article by Chris Olney, a former member of the ECC board of directors, appeared in the August 2004 issue of Catskill Center News.