Amy's Park
500 acres in the Town of Bolton Landing
Named in memory of Amy Wolgin Wiener, Amy's Park is a beautiful property of
ponds, marshes and forests in the uplands of Bolton Landing located between
Padanarum and Trout Falls Roads. The Park also includes a portion lying to the
west of Trout Falls Road. It was purchased on February 29, 2012 and its hiking
trails were officially opened to the public with an inaugural guided hike on
Friday, July 13th following the LGLC annual meeting.
LGLC purchased the property for $500,000 from a conservation buyer, who held the
land until LGLC was able to finalize the purchase. Funding for the deal is
provided through two grants: a State Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) grant
from the New York Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, which
was awarded to LGLC in 2007 for this acquisition, and a Federal North American
Wetlands Conservation Act grant.
The Bolton property includes the headwaters for Indian Brook and contains
important wildlife habitat within its large, unfragmented forest and wetland
complexes. Protecting this fragile property prevents excess nutrients and
sediments that are inevitably generated by development from flowing into Indian
Brook and Northwest Bay.
In 2007 the property had been under threat of development. In response, and
unbeknownst to LGLC, a representative of 228 Bolton residents presented a
petition to the Bolton Town Board in June of 2007 requesting the Board to
protect these lands. That same evening, the Board voted to endorse LGLC’s
application for the EPF grant. LGLC also received written support for the grant
from Senator Betty Little and Assemblywoman Teresa R. Sayward.
LGLC has created two hiking trails for passive recreation, exploration
and education, both of which include lookout areas to view the active beaver
pond and its resident wildlife. Please see the map at right, under "Quick
Links" for details. A more descriptive trail guide will be created and
posted this fall. The northern pond will remain as a wilderness area, accessible
primarily by canoe or a wood’s trail where visitors can enjoy the rare
experience of wilderness in Bolton Landing.
Our many thanks to Carl Heilman for use of his photos in the slideshow above. (Carl
Heilman, II/WildVisions, Inc.,www.carlheilman.com)
