The Taconic Mountains () are a 150-mile-long sub-range of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

lying on the eastern border of New York State and adjacent New England. The range, which played a role in the history of geological science, is separated from the

Berkshires The Berkshires () are highlands located in western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut in the United States. Generally, "Berkshires" may refer to the range of hills in Massachusetts that lie between the Housatonic and Connecticut River ...

and

Green Mountains The Green Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. state of Vermont and are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains. The range runs primarily south to north and extends approximately from the border with Massachusetts to the border with Que ...

to the east by a series of valleys, principally those of the

Housatonic River The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United ...

, Battenkill River and Otter Creek. The Taconics' highest point is

Mount Equinox Equinox Mountain is the highest peak of the Taconic Mountains, Taconic Range and the second-highest point in southern Vermont, after Stratton Mountain (Vermont), Stratton Mountain. It rises nearly 3,000 feet (914 meters) above its eastern footi ...

in Vermont at ; among many other summits are

Dorset Mountain Dorset Mountain, on the border of Rutland and Bennington counties in Vermont, is part of the Taconic Range. The summit of Dorset Mountain is in Danby. An unmaintained hiking trail ascends from the southwest. Dorset Mountain was the site of ...

Mount Greylock Mount Greylock is the highest point in Massachusetts at 3,489 feet (1,063 meters). Located in the northwest region of the state, it is part of the Taconic Mountains, a geologically distinct range from the nearby Berkshire Mountains, Berkshire ...

and

Mount Everett Mount Everett is the highest peak in the southern Taconic Mountains, rising about 2,000 feet above its eastern footings in Sheffield, Massachusetts. Its summit area is notable for expansive vistas and an unusual dwarf forest of pitch pine and ...

.''Day Hiker's Guide to Vermont'' 5th ed. (2006). Green Mountain Club: Waterbury Center, Vermont

Raymo, Chet Chet Raymo (born September 17, 1936, in Chattanooga, Tennessee) is a noted writer, educator and naturalist. He is Professor Emeritus of Physics at Stonehill College, in Easton, Massachusetts. His weekly newspaper column "Science Musings" appeare ...

and Raymo, Maureen E. (1989). ''Written in Stone: A Geologic History of the Northeastern United States.'' Chester, Connecticut: Globe Pequot.Doll, Charles G.
Centennial Geologic Map of Vermont
' (1961). United States Geological Survey: Washington

Forests A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological functio ...

are predominately maple-beech-birch with some spruce-fir at higher elevations, "and oak and hickory common to the south and at lower elevations." Parts of the Taconics are in the

New England-Acadian forests New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

. Although mostly private property, the Taconics contain a half-dozen sizable state forests and parks, as well as many preserves of lesser acreage protected by land trusts."Taconic Crest Project" Rensselaer Land Trust. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
"Equinox Highlands, Manchester and Dorset, Vermont." The Nature Conservancy. Retrieved February 13, 2011.Wildlands and Woodlands: A Vision for the New England Landscape. Harvard Forest (2010). Harvard University."The Nature Conservancy and Intel Corporation Launch Berkshire Taconic Landscape Educational Web Site; New Educational Site for Parents, Students & Teachers Includes Educational Lesson Plans." (2002) PR Newswire Association, duplicated by thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved February 13, 2011. LL

/ref> Several hundred Mile, miles of trails are within these mountains, including parts of the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...

Name

Taconic is likely from a

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

word meaning "in the trees". The spelling "Taghkanic", among several variant transliterations, is current for about a half-dozen locales, mostly within the immediate region. As written English, the term appears in a 1685 petition for the right to purchase land in western Massachusetts.

Timothy Dwight IV Timothy Dwight (May 14, 1752January 11, 1817) was an American academic and educator, a Congregationalist minister, theologian, and author. He was the eighth president of Yale College (1795–1817). Early life Timothy Dwight was born May 14, 17 ...

used the name "Taughkannuc Mountain" in an account of his 1781 ascent of the summit later named

. Dwight's account was deemed the "first recorded ascent" of that peak in a 1989 text on regional hiking history. The term first entered geological literature in 1819 with

Chester Dewey Chester Dewey (October 25, 1784 – December 15, 1867) was an American botanist, antislavery activist, clergyman and educator.Makers of American Botany, Harry Baker Humphrey, Ronald Press Company, Library of Congress Card Number 61-18435 Early l ...

's "Sketch of the Mineralogy and Geology of the Vicinity of Williams' College". It gained prominence in the field when Dewey's protégé Emmons proposed the existence of a "Taconic System" in 1839 (see above). In the 20th century, it became attached to the theory of an

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era, and the second of twelve periods of the Phanerozoic Eon (geology), Eon. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years f ...

mountain-building event involving much of what is now eastern North America named the "

Taconic Orogeny The Taconic orogeny was a mountain building period that ended 440 million years ago (Ma) and affected most of modern-day New England. A great mountain chain formed from eastern Canada down through what is now the Piedmont of the east coast of the ...

Geology

The range is part of the Taconic

Allochthon upright=1.6, Schematic overview of a thrust system. The hanging wall block is (when it has reasonable proportions) called a window. A klippe is a solitary outcrop of the nappe in the middle of autochthonous material. An allochthon, or an alloc ...

, a local rock structure which traveled to its current position from about 25 miles to the east through low-angle thrusting. Rocks of this allochthon are older than the strata lying beneath, and consist of

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

phyllite Phyllite ( ) is a type of foliation (geology), foliated metamorphic rock formed from slate that is further metamorphosed so that very fine grained white mica achieves a preferred orientation.Stephen Marshak ''Essentials of Geology'', 3rd ed. I ...

, and

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...

, "plus some minor lenses of

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

." The Taconic allochthon is larger than the current Taconic Mountains, extending westward toward the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

. It formed during the

Ordovician period The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era, and the second of twelve periods of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period Ma (mill ...

in the collision of the North American Plate into a volcanic island arc. Geologist E-An Zen proved this allochthon's existence in 1966 via a study of the region's faulting, although it had been proposed around 1906 by

Rudolf Ruedemann Rudolf Ruedemann (October 16, 1864–June 18, 1956) was a German American paleontologist, widely known as an expert in graptolites, enigmatic fossil animals. He worked at the New York State Museum for over 40 years, including a decade as State ...

and separately by

Arthur Keith Sir Arthur Keith FRS FRAI (5 February 1866 – 7 January 1955) was a British anatomist and anthropologist, and a proponent of scientific racism. He was a fellow and later the Hunterian Professor and conservator of the Hunterian Museum of the ...

, each using concepts associated with French geologist

Marcel Alexandre Bertrand Marcel Alexandre Bertrand (2 July 1847 – 13 February 1907) was a French geologist born in Paris. He was the son of mathematician Joseph Louis François Bertrand (1822–1900), and son-in-law to physicist Éleuthère Mascart (1837-1908). He st ...

. Their proposals regarding the Taconics, however, were viewed as unproven and controversial until Zen's work."The Taconic Controversy: What Forces Make a Range?," Appalachia: Vol. 73: No. 1, Article 5. An earlier and largely separate dispute over the age of the Taconic Mountains based on the region's sparse fossil record began in the 1830s and centered on the theory of

Ebenezer Emmons Ebenezer Emmons (May 16, 1799October 1, 1863), was an American geologist whose work includes the naming of the Adirondack Mountains in New York as well as a first ascent of Mount Marcy. Early life Emmons was born at Middlefield, Massachusetts, ...

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

that the range was older than its surroundings with a distinct geology he named "the Taconic System." In opposing Emmons' theory, James Hall of

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (; RPI) is a private university, private research university in Troy, New York, United States. It is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere. It was establishe ...

initially gained prominent support from famed international scientists of the day, including

Louis Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Spending his early life in Switzerland, he recei ...

and

Charles Lyell Sir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet, (14 November 1797 – 22 February 1875) was a Scottish geologist who demonstrated the power of known natural causes in explaining the earth's history. He is best known today for his association with Charles ...

. Emmons died in 1863, yet as late as the 1880s two leading geologists of the era

James Dwight Dana James Dwight Dana Royal Society of London, FRS FRSE (February 12, 1813 – April 14, 1895) was an American geologist, mineralogist, volcanologist, and zoologist. He made pioneering studies of mountain-building, volcano, volcanic activity, and the ...

(Yale University) and

Jules Marcou Jules Marcou (April 20, 1824 – April 17, 1898) was a French-Swiss-American geologist. Biography He was born in Salins, in the '' département'' of Jura, in France. He was educated at Besançon and at the Collège Saint Louis, Paris. After c ...

wrote of their continued and sometimes bitter disagreements over Emmons' theory. This early phase of ideas about the Taconic Mountains is compared with the Great Devonian Controversy that preoccupied British geologists for part of the 19th century.

Description

South Taconics

This area includes a locally significant and expansive area of undisturbed forest, although only a fraction is assured protection from development.

Mount Washington State Forest Mount Washington State Forest is a state forest in Mount Washington, Massachusetts, Mount Washington, Massachusetts. The forest conjoins with New York (state), New York state and the state of Connecticut in the southern Taconic Mountains of the ...

and

Taconic State Park Taconic State Park is located in Columbia and Dutchess County, New York abutting Massachusetts and Connecticut within the Taconic Mountains. The state park is located off New York State Route 344 south of Interstate 90 and north of New York Ci ...

are among the larger public properties within the immediate region. The highest summit here is

, home of a

pitch pine ''Pinus rigida'', the pitch pine, is a small-to-medium-sized pine. It is native to eastern North America, primarily from central Maine south to Georgia and as far west as Kentucky. It is found in environments which other species would find unsuit ...

and

scrub oak Scrub oak is a common name for several species of small, shrubby oaks. It may refer to: *the Chaparral plant community in California, or to one of the following species. In California *California scrub oak ('' Quercus berberidifolia''), a widesp ...

biome A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Tansley added the ...

. Others include

Mount Frissell Mount Frissell, , which straddles the border of southwest Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut, is part of the Taconic Range. Frissell's south slopes include the highest point in Connecticut, a popular destination for highpointers. Frissel ...

, the south slope of which contains the highest point in Connecticut at ; Bear Mountain , the highest mountain peak in Connecticut;

Alander Mountain Alander Mountain is a part of the south Taconic Mountains in southwest Massachusetts and adjacent to New York. The summit is grassy and covered with scrub oak and shrubs; the sides of the mountain are heavily forested. Several trails traverse ...

Brace Mountain Brace Mountain is the peak of a ridge in the southern Taconic Mountains, near the tripoint of the U.S. states of New York (state), New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Its main summit is located in New York; it is the highest point in that ...

,; and

Mount Fray Mount Fray, , also known as Catamount because of the Catamount Ski Area located on its north slope, is a prominent peak of the south Taconic Mountains, located in southwest Massachusetts and adjacent New York. The summit is open and covered ...

, home of the

Catamount Ski Area Catamount Ski Area is a ski resort located on Mount Fray of the Taconic Mountains in Hillsdale, New York and South Egremont, Massachusetts. Catamount is one of three ski areas in the southern Berkshires; the others are Butternut in Great Ba ...

. The Appalachian Trail traverses the eastern escarpment of the range; the

South Taconic Trail The South Taconic Trail is a hiking trail in the Taconic Mountains of southwest Massachusetts and adjacent New York. The trail extends from Shagroy Road in Millerton, New York, north along the ridgecrest of the southern Taconic Range and the bor ...

traverses the western escarpment, passing near Bash Bish Falls, reputedly Massachusetts' highest waterfall.

Central Segment and Upper Hoosic River Valley Region

From Catamount Ski Area north to the Hoosic River Valley, a straight-line distance of about 50 miles, the crest initially shifts slightly west. Notable summits in the southern part of this segment are Bald Mountain, , and Harvey Mountain, , as well as Beebe Hill, , with its summit fire tower. Several miles to the northeast of Harvey Mountain is West Stockbridge Mountain and the Lenox Mountain massif; taken together, modern conservationists have named these two separate areas Yokun Ridge, an zone extending from the

Massachusetts Turnpike The Massachusetts Turnpike (colloquially the "Mass Pike" or "the Pike") is a controlled-access toll road that runs concurrently with Interstate 90 (I-90) in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It the longest Interstate Highway in Massachu ...

to the southerly neighborhoods of

Pittsfield Pittsfield is the most populous city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsf ...

at elevations ranging between roughly .(2009) United States Board on Geographic Names. Database entry

Retrieved February 10, 2011. At Pittsfield, the crest shifts west once again to hills contained within Pittsfield State Forest and the contiguous Balance Rock Park and Bates Memorial State Park, where heights include Holy Mount , (once the location of religious rituals practiced by a former

Shaker Shaker or Shakers may refer to: Religious groups * Shakers, a historically significant Christian sect * Indian Shakers, a smaller Christian denomination Objects and instruments * Shaker (musical instrument), an indirect struck idiophone * Cock ...

community) and Berry Hill , notable for its extensive stands of wild

azalea Azaleas ( ) are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Rhododendron sect. Tsutsusi, Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and ''Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate ...

North of Jiminy Peak , the valley of

Kinderhook Creek Kinderhook Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed October 3, 2011 tributary to Stockport Creek, an inlet of the Hudson River in the United States. From its source i ...

cuts through the hills. Here the westernmost ridgeline is dominated by Misery Mountain and Berlin Mountain and extending into

Pownal, Vermont Pownal is a New England town, town in Bennington County, Vermont, Bennington County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town population was 3,258. The town of Pownal includes the villages of Pownal (CDP) ...

. In this vicinity is

, the highest point in Massachusetts and the long ridge of

Brodie Mountain Brodie Mountain, , is a prominent long ridgeline in the Taconic Mountains of western Massachusetts, known for the former Brodie Mountain ski area, which closed in 2002. The ridge has eight well defined summits, three of which have names: Shee ...

. Significant public property within the Taconics' central segment includes New York's Beebe Hill and Harvey Mt. State Forest, Berlin State Forest, Pittsfield State Forest and the contiguous Taconic Ridge State Forest and Taconic Trail State Park in New York and Massachusetts, respectively, as well as the Mount Greylock State Reservation. Within this segment are also three long-distance trails (the

, the Taconic Crest Trail, and the Taconic Skyline Trail)s.''Massachusetts Trail Guide'' (2004). Boston: Appalachian Mountain Club.''Yokun Ridge'' (2005). Berkshire Natural Resources Council. Pittsfield, Massachusetts.''Mount Greylock'' (2001). Berkshire Natural Resources Council. Pittsfield, Massachusetts

Southern Vermont

North of the Massachusetts border, the profile of the Taconic Range is cut by the

Hoosic River The Hoosic River, also known as the Hoosac, the Hoosick (primarily in New York) and the Hoosuck (mostly archaic), is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed October 3, 2011 tr ...

in the vicinity of

Bennington, Vermont Bennington is a New England town, town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester (town), Vermont, Manchester. As of the 2020 United States Census, US Cens ...

. Mount Anthony , notable for its caves and as the location of the former

Southern Vermont College Southern Vermont College was a private college on the former Edward Everett Estate (originally The Orchards) near Bennington, Vermont. The college closed in 2019. History Southern Vermont College was founded in 1926 as St. Joseph Business Sch ...

, stands as a satellite peak above the surrounding eroded terrain. North of Bennington, the range gradually rises to its highest prominence with peaks such as

, the high point of the Taconic Mountains, and

, a New England 100 Highest list summit. Other notable summits include

Grass Mountain A grass mountain () in topography is a mountain covered with low vegetation, typically in the Alps and often steep-sided. The nature of such cover, which often grows particularly well on sedimentary rock, will reflect local conditions. Distrib ...

, a

New England Fifty Finest The New England Fifty Finest is a list of mountains in New England, United States, used in the mountaineering sport of peak bagging. The list comprises the 50 summits with the highest topographic prominence — a peak's height above the lowest con ...

list mountain; and Mount Aeolus , the location of several defunct

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

quarries and the site of Aeolus Cave an important

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

hibernaculum. Designated hiking trails are located on Mount Equinox, Dorset Mountain, and Mount Aeolus, and several other peaks within the region.

Northern terminus

Immediately north of

Danby, Vermont Danby is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,284 at the 2020 census. Etymology According to the ''Vermont Encyclopedia'', Danby was most likely named for Thomas Osborne, Earl of Danby and Duke of Leeds."Danb ...

, the Taconic Range broadens and becomes lower. It exhibits several parallel ridgelines, dominated to the west by mountains composed of

and similar rock, most notably the ridgeline of Saint Catherine Mountain , with its conspicuous long cliff face visible from Wells and Poultney. The area around Lake Saint Catherine contains extensive slate quarries. The ridgeline to the east, composed of

and

, is dominated by the escarpment of Tinmouth Mountain , overlooking the Valley of Vermont to the east in the town of Tinmouth. A field of less descript ridges and peaks lies between these two summits.''DeLorme Topo 6.0'' (2004). Mapping software. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme.''Bomoseen State Park'' (1989). Vermont Agency of Natural Resources: Waterbury Center, Vermont. Near the end of the range, in the vicinity of

Rutland, Vermont Rutland, Vermont may refer to: *Rutland (city), Vermont *Rutland (town), Vermont *Rutland County, Vermont *West Rutland, Vermont West Rutland is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,214 at the 2020 census. The ...

, the Taconic Mountains show several prominent peaks with dramatic, irregular cliff faces clearly visible from

U.S. Route 4 U.S. Route 4 (US 4) is a United States Numbered Highway that runs from East Greenbush, New York, in the west to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in the east, traversing Vermont. In New York, US 4 is signed north–south to reflect ...

west of the city of Rutland; these include Herrick Mountain ; Grandpa's Knob , the former site of the

Smith–Putnam wind turbine The Smith–Putnam wind turbine was the world's first megawatt-size wind turbine. In 1941 it was connected to the local electrical distribution system on Grandpa's Knob in Castleton, Vermont, US. It was designed by Palmer Cosslett Putnam and ma ...

, the first large-scale electricity-producing

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over ...

; and the

butte In geomorphology, a butte ( ) is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from the French l ...

-like Bird Mountain (also called Birdseye Mountain) , home of the Bird Mountain Wildlife Management Area and notable as an important

raptor Raptor(s) or RAPTOR may refer to: Animals The word "raptor" refers to several groups of avian and non-avian dinosaurs which primarily capture and subdue/kill prey with their talons. * Raptor (bird) or bird of prey, a bird that primarily hunt ...

migration path and nesting site. Also part of the Taconic Mountains are the foothills of the

Lake Bomoseen Lake Bomoseen ( ) is a freshwater lake in the western part of the U.S. state of Vermont in the towns of Castleton and Hubbardton in Rutland County. It is the largest lake that lies entirely within the state's boundaries, with a surface area of ...

region west of Birdseye and Grandpa's Knob, notable for their extensive slate quarrying operations. North of Grandpa's Knob, the Taconic Range soon diminishes into scattered hills which extend north into the

Burlington, Vermont Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Can ...

region. Isolated summits in this area include Snake Mountain , a

Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

preserve featuring a variety of rare and endangered species; and Mount Philo , home of Mount Philo State Park with its mountaintop campground.

History

Natural resource Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...

extraction has been an important industry in the Taconic Mountains; extraction industries have included

, and

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

mining as well as

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, truckscharcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...

ing.''South Taconic Range: Trail Guide and Map.'' Berkshire Natural Resources Council (2002). Pittsfield, Massachusett
Also available online
; Retrieved December 27, 2008.

Conservation

Along with various state properties, some mentioned elsewhere in this article, the

Berkshire Natural Resources Council The Berkshire Natural Resources Council (BNRC) is a non-profit land conservation and environmental advocacy organization formed in 1967 that protects and maintains more than 50 properties and of conservation restrictions around the Berkshires in ...

and the

have been active in the region. The

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's ...

has designated several areas within the Taconics under its

Forest Legacy Program The Forest Legacy Program was established in the 1990 United States farm bill to protect environmentally important forest lands that are threatened by conversion to nonforest uses. It provides federal funding for conservation easements and fee sim ...

, which affords subsidies for the acquisition of conservation easement, although practical effects have been limited.DCR Site Help
Mass.gov. Retrieved on 2014-04-12. Minor fragments of the

Green Mountain National Forest Green Mountain National Forest is a national forest located in Vermont, a temperate broadleaf and mixed forest typical of the New England/Acadian forests ecoregion. The forest supports a variety of wildlife, including beaver, moose, coyote, b ...

are located in the Northern Taconics. Multi-partner collaboratives that have targeted the Taconic Mountains with limited results and include the New England Wildlands and Woodlands Collaborative, a regional conservation agenda for the

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

states produced by representatives of dozens of non-profits and academic institutions and, more specifically, the Taconic Crest Project, which involves the states of New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont in collaboration with local land trusts and The Nature Conservancy.