The State of New York recently announced an agreement to purchase two parcels in Whitehall. The Saddles, a 2,540 acre property on Lake Champlain’s South Bay, and Spruce Point, a 726 acre parcel between the Lake Champlain and Lake George basins.
Governor Cuomo and DEC Commissioner Martens recently announced the planned acquisition of 69,000 acres throughout the Adirondacks. This planned acquisition will be the largest single addition to the Adirondack Forest Preserve in more than a century. Two of the parcels to be acquired, while outside the Adirondack blue line, are in Whitehall.
The Saddles on Lake Champlain. Looking East toward Whitehall. (Photo Credit: Alan Cedarstrom. Click image to see full-scale.)
The first local parcel is referred to as the Saddles, a 2,540 acre parcel acquired by the Nature Conservancy in 2007 with the intent that it would be sold to the state. As one heads over the South Bay bridge toward Whitehall, the Saddles can be seen in the distance. The tract features cliffs and more than 2,250 feet of undeveloped shoreline on Lake Champlain’s South Bay. The land includes streams, marshes, swamps and floodplain forests that encompass the lowlands of South Bay. The tract includes areas where the Eastern timber rattlesnake and peregrine falcon reside.
The second 726 acre parcel is referred to as Spruce Point or Dolph Pond. As you leave Whitehall, heading south toward Fort Ann, you can see the ridges on top of this parcel. Presently it is under exclusive lease through September 30, 2013 but will be open to the public in October 2013. The property features interesting ridges, a variety of forest types, including Appalachian oak hickory and hemlock northern hardwood, and provides habitat for black bear, white tail deer and other wildlife.
My post would not be complete without thanking Emily DeSantis, Director of Public Information for the Dept. of Environmental Conservation who helped me compile the information for this story.
