Sunday’s event also honored Mohonk Preserve’s 50th anniversary.
After a half century, the more than 8,000 acres of preserved forest and mountain landscape at the Preserve receive roughly 150,000 visitors each year. Of those 150,000, about 50,000 are climbers alone. Autumn is a huge time for the Preserve, because 40 percent of those visitors show up during the fall.
“But the Preserve is not just a playground. We have a very large education program. It’s the 27th or 28th year with the New Paltz Central School District. Every kid in New Paltz comes out here once a year, from K through six, for our education program,” explained Ron Knapp, Mohonk Preserve’s president.
The education programs serve more than 12,000 people — kids and grownups — each year. Conservation science is also a huge focus for the land preserve. Mohonk Preserve is also home to a collection of meteorological data dating back to 1896.
Knapp noted that 2013 and 2014 are poised to be a big time for the Preserve, since a massive capital project is underway. It will include a restoration of the historic carriage roads — as well as the purchase of 534 acres in the Mohonk foothills. That acreage includes the Testimonial Gatehouse, Kleinekill Farm and Humpo Marsh.
Those 50 years are a big deal for Mohonk Preserve. Back in 1963, Mohonk Mountain House’s owners, the Smiley family, their supporters and friends decided to form the “Mohonk Trust” to safeguard that land and its natural resources into the future.
In 1978, Mohonk Trust became known as Mohonk Preserve. Today the preserve has approximately 14,000 members.
“We’ve been really working over all this time to build this community of folks who love the Ridge and use the Ridge and benefit from getting into nature — whatever that means to them: whether it’s rock climbing, or hiking, or wildlife observation,” Hoagland said.
Not everyone realizes how dedicated climbers are — or how big of a role climbing plays in the local economy. It allows Rock & Snow in New Paltz to thrive, but also at least 80 licensed guides make a living helping people climb the Ridge.
“This crowd, I would say, is really one of our longest-held, natural constituencies,” the director said of the climbers. Mohonk Preserve also has rock climbers on its board of directors and on their advisory committees — as well as climbers working as rangers and staff members in the park.
To learn more about the history of Mohonk Preserve, or to get a look at an interactive timeline, head to www.mohonkpreserve.org.
Editor’s note: The Climbing Film Festival continues this weekend with a film screening at Rock & Snow on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 8 p.m. In the High Country is “a visual essay about a life in the mountains” that “looks at running from a new perspective, both visually and in the style of running.” Admission to that event is free.
The Paradox Rocks tour, a series of “adaptive” climbing events and social gatherings for athletes with disabilities such as prosthetic limbs, will also touch down in the Gunks this weekend. Timmy O’Neill of Paradox Sports, a top manufacturer of adaptive outdoor equipment, will give a presentation at Rock & Snow on Friday, Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. Admission to the Paradox Rocks slideshow is free. Finally, on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 8 p.m., Nora Scarlett will present a free slideshow at the store about backpacking the John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada. Rock & Snow is located at 44 Main Street in New Paltz.
