Ash:  "Spectacularly beautiful"

CHESTER – State Parks Commissioner Carol Ash, the former director of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, returned ‘home’ Friday night to be honored by the Orange County Land Trust as a leader in land preservation.

While she works in Albany now,Ash remembers her roots in the Hudson Valley.

“The Hudson River Valley, first of all, is spectacularly beautiful, particularly this time of year, and secondly, these people and I worked really hard when I was at the Palisades Commission to figure out how do we protect as much of the view sheds as possible and make sure, in some cases, that taxes still get paid and that the quality of life for the people here, just continued to be extraordinary,” she said.

Orange County Land Trust President James Delaun said his organization has conserved 740 acres of land this year and “we are most excited about the preservation of Arrow Park, which is now a part of Sterling Forest.”