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The National Natural Landmarks in New York include 28 of the almost 600

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...

s (NNLs) in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Twenty-six landmarks are contained entirely within New York; the two exceptions are the Palisades of the Hudson which extends along the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

into

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, and the

Chazy Fossil Reef Chazy Fossil Reef is a United States National Natural Landmark spanning three Lake Champlain islands in Clinton County, New York and Grand Isle County, Vermont. The site is recognized as the oldest known diverse fossil reef in the world, and cont ...

which spans several

Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; french: Lac Champlain) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the US states of New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. The New York portion of t ...

islands belonging to both New York and

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. New York's NNLs cover unique landforms carved by glacial meltwater, a rare

meromictic lake A meromictic lake is a lake which has layers of water that do not intermix. In ordinary, holomictic lakes, at least once each year, there is a physical mixing of the surface and the deep waters. The term ''meromictic'' was coined by the Austr ...

, several exposed

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

sites, and the largest open fault system in the United States. The state's first NNLs, Bergen-Byron Swamp and Mianus River Gorge, were designated in 1964 and are the oldest NNLs in the nation; New York's newest NNL is the

Albany Pine Bush The Albany Pine Bush, referred to locally as the Pine Bush, is one of the largest of the 20 inland pine barrens in the world. It is centrally located in New York's Capital District within Albany and Schenectady counties, between the cities of A ...

, designated in 2014. Owners include private individuals, non-governmental conservation organizations, and several municipal, state and federal agencies. Designation as a NNL does not guarantee that a property is open to the public, and some are located on private property with restricted access. The National Natural Landmarks Program is administered by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

, a branch of the Department of the Interior. NNLs are intended to showcase important biological and/or geological features, and represent illustrative or well-preserved examples of such sites within a given biological or

physiographic province physiographic province is a geographic region with a characteristic geomorphology, and often specific subsurface rock type or structural elements. The continents are subdivided into various physiographic provinces, each having a specific characte ...

. Properties considered for NNL status are nominated by the National Park Service, and are accepted or rejected by the Secretary of the Interior after a review process. The designation provides indirect, partial protection of the historic and biological integrity of the properties via tax incentives, grants, monitoring of threats, and other means. However, designation do never directly prohibit destruction or alteration of the property, and the designation may be revoked at any time by the National Park Service if the NNL is considered to have been significantly altered or damaged. Properties may also be de-designated by request of the property owner.

National Natural Landmarks

Former National Natural Landmark

According to a notice in the '' Federal Register'' in July 2006, Gardiner's Island in Suffolk County was removed by the Department of the Interior from National Natural Landmark status in response to owner requests. It was originally designated in April 1967. Its description formerly read: "The island is a breeding ground for osprey and is an important habitat of other fauna, particularly waterfowl and shore birds."

References

External links

National Park Service: New York National Natural Landmarks
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Natural Landmarks In New York * New York National Natural Landmarks

National Natural Landmarks

Former National Natural Landmark

See also

References

External links