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SARATOGA COUNTY — Saratoga PLAN, in partnership with the Open Space Institute, Saratoga County, Wilton Partners LLC, and other Palmertown Partners are building more than five miles of trails for mountain biking, hiking and more in the towns of Wilton and Greenfield.
The group is also working to permanently conserve the 202-acre property, which will be acquired by Saratoga County for a community forest.
The public is invited to contribute to a fundraising campaign led by Saratoga PLAN that aims to raise $20,000 for the Graphite Range, a Saratoga County Community Forest project. The fundraising campaign is taking place between April 22 and June 4, fittingly bound by Earth Day and National Trails Day.
Graphite Range Community Forest will provide an essential linkage of multiuse recreational trails within a larger, 50-mile trail network known as the Sarah B. Foulke Friendship Trail System. The fundraising effort supports the acquisition and conservation of the property, as well as the creation of a world-class trail system and amenities.
“This is truly becoming not just a community-oriented project, but also a community-driven one. People are rallying to contribute through all kinds of creative ways, offering their talents, making donations, and volunteering,” said Maria Trabka, executive director of Saratoga PLAN.
“Partnering with local municipalities, state agencies, Skidmore College, Saratoga County, and the Open Space Institute, PLAN’s primary role has been in providing the glue and support so that everyone in the community has a chance to participate in conserving land and planning and building an extensive trail network that is welcoming, accessible, and accommodates a variety of users’ needs,” Trabka said.
Family-friendly trails are being built this spring and summer, and it is expected that the property will be purchased by Saratoga County sometime this coming fall.
“The Saratoga County Community Forest property provides a key connection within the Palmertown Range conservation area and builds on a larger collaborative conservation effort that is helping to transform this region into a prime recreational destination,” said Kim Elliman, president and CEO of the Open Space Institute, which has protected more than 3,300 acres over the last six years within the Palmertown Range.
To date, sizeable gifts from individuals and local foundations have collectively contributed $146,000 towards the project, all of which will be matched up to $150,000 by a local family. Word-of-mouth has been the primary means of fundraising thus far, with friends asking friends if they’d like to join them in making the project happen.
People who want to help make this community forest project happen can make donations online at: saratogaplan.org/saratoga-county-community-forest/ or mail in their donation to Saratoga PLAN, 112 Spring Street, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866.
