The Mohonk Preserve is a nature preserve in the Shawangunk Ridge, north of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Ulster County, New York Ulster County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston, ...

. The preserve has over of cliffs, forests, fields, ponds and streams, with over of carriage roads and of trails for hiking, cycling, trail running, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and horseback riding. It is also a major destination for rock climbers, hosting 50,000 climbers each year who enjoy more than 1,000 climbing routes.

History

The origins of the preserve date to 1869, when twin brothers Albert and Alfred Smiley purchased Lake Mohonk and established the Mohonk Mountain House. On February 26, 1963, the Smiley family, friends, neighbors and supporters formed the Mohonk Trust to protect the area's unique natural landscape for future generations. The property of the Mohonk Trust on that day in 1963 consisted of $100, a gift from Mabel Craven Smiley. Land was acquired by the Mohonk Trust over the years, and it became the Mohonk Preserve Inc. in 1978. According to their 2017 IRS Form 990 their assets then exceeded $25 million. Through the support of members, donors and partners, the preserve has become a center for outdoor education and a conservation advocate, especially for natural lands in the Shawangunks and the

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...

. Its mission includes land protection and stewardship, sponsorship of environmental education programs, which according to Preserve officials have served more than 100,000 children over a thirty-year period, and maintenance of biological, weather, and natural history records spanning more than a century. In 1986, the Mohonk Preserve and Mohonk Mountain House together were designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

. The name "Moggonck" appeared in early boundary records referring to the "high hill", the crag now named Skytop where the Skytop Tower is located. The spelling change from "gg" to "h" was probably done for aesthetic reasons. The word ''Moggonck'' was possibly derived from the

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

''maxkwung'', "place of bears", or from the

Munsee The Munsee () are a subtribe and one of the three divisions of the Lenape. Historically, they lived along the upper portion of the Delaware River, the Minisink, and the adjacent country in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. They were prom ...

''maxkawenge'', "hill of bears". Another possibility comes from the related

Mohican The Mohicans ( or ) are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe that historically spoke an Algonquian language. As part of the Eastern Algonquian family of tribes, they are related to the neighboring Lenape, whose indigenous territory was ...

language, in which ''Magunk'' is derived from ''Magki'', "great", and ''Unk'', "a standing tree".

Description

Headquarters of the not-for-profit Mohonk Preserve are in Gardiner, New York. Most of the land is in the town of Gardiner, but there is also land in the towns of Marbletown, Rosendale, New Paltz, and Rochester. Preserve lands extend for nearly from Rosendale to Millbrook Mountain. More than 75% of the Preserve's funding comes from contributions, memberships and investments. Grants from land conservation organizations, including some from the New York State Conservation Partnership Program, and funds from the state's Environmental Protection Fund amount to 23% of income. It was the first land trust established on the northern Shawangunk Ridge. The Preserve's mission is to protect the Shawangunk Mountains by inspiring people to care for, enjoy, and explore the natural world. To accomplish its mission, the Preserve conducts programs in four key areas - environmental education, serving both school children and adults; land protection, saving high-priority land on the ridge; land stewardship, balancing the protection of land and wildlife with opportunities for recreation; and scientific research, creating a "living laboratory" on the land. The land is home to more than 1,400 plant and animal species, including the

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...

, Jefferson salamander, and of rare dwarf pitch pine. Restricted deer hunting is allowed with the aim of preventing ecological damage due to overbrowsing. There is a per-person day fee for cycling and rock climbing. Annual memberships are available. Free one-month memberships were offered to Ulster County residents in the spring and again in the fall of 2014. Hours of operation are from sunrise to one hour past sunset. Minnewaska State Park Preserve adjoins the Mohonk Preserve lands to the south, and protects another of former property of another member of the Smiley family as a state park.

Daniel Smiley Research Center

The Daniel Smiley Research Center (DSRC) is the Mohonk Preserve's conservation science unit. The DSRC archive is recognized nationally for an extensive collection of

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

and

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

long-term research data. The archive includes more than 86 years of natural and cultural history observations, over 120 years of daily weather data, 60,000 physical items, 9,000 photographs, and research library. Of those physical items, there are over 3,000

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...

specimens, 139 mammal specimens, 107 bird specimens, 140 butterfly specimens, 400 arthropod specimens, and over 10,000 index cards with handwritten and/or typed natural history observations. The collections are also frequently cited in research on climate change, biodiversity, bird migration, and human impact on the environment.

References

External links

Official siteNY-NJTC: Mohonk Preserve trail details and info
{{coord, 41, 44, 50, N, 74, 12, 35, W, display=title Protected areas of Ulster County, New York Shawangunks Climbing areas of the United States New Paltz, New York Nature centers in New York (state) Nature reserves in New York (state)