Soon after, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission was established with the donation of land all along the Palisades by concerned landowners, including J. Pierpont Morgan, John D Rockefeller Sr. and Palisades resident Lydia (Underhill) Lawrence, who resided on Lawrence Lane. In 1937, the Bi-State Commission was created by the Governors of N.Y. and N.J., each of whom appointed five commissioners (serving five-year terms) with the sole purpose of preserving and acquiring land along the Palisades and beyond.

Since that time, the complexity of protecting and caring for the Palisades is shared by three organizations: the Bi-State Commission, the NYNJ Trail Conference and the Palisades Interstate Park System. Then there is the Palisades Park Conservancy. The Palisades Park Conservancy (PPC), which just celebrated its 20th anniversary on September 9, 2021, began as a “Friends” group in 2001, cofounded by Sparkill resident and lifelong environmentalist Carol Ash. The PPC currently works in partnership with the Palisades Interstate Park (PIP) System serving as its primary voice. The PPC oversees the raising of vital funds used for the protection, public education and advocacy of more than 130,000 acres consisting of twenty state parks and eight American Revolution sites. Some of the state parks are Tallman, Hook Mountain, Blauvelt, High Tor, Highland Lakes, Rockland Lake, Nyack Beach, Palisades Interstate Park, Goosepond Mountain, Bear Mountain/Trailside Zoo and points north to Harriman, Sterling Forest and Storm King Mountain. The American Revolution sites include Fort Lee Historic Park, Fort Montgomery, New Windsor Cantonment, Stony Point Battlefield, Washington Headquarters in Newburgh and the Senate House in Kingston.

Since 2012, the PPC has raised over $6 million, which has been used to support the restoration and maintenance of the parks and historic sites. They partner with many other organizations to carry out their projects such as Hudson Valley Greenway, Rockland Conservation and Service Corps and the NYS Excelsior Conservation Corps to maintain and build paths, bridges and staircases. One major project was the building of the staircase at Stony Point, which leads to beautiful outlook views of the Hudson River. The PPC also sponsors a successful Eco-Arts Program in partnership with Strawtown Studio led by Laurie Seeman. So many organizations are invested in the protection of our parks.

There is much to celebrate in nature all around us and so much to continue to protect. The biggest success happened not long ago in 2017. Palisades protection groups fought a four-year battle with LG headquarters in Englewood Cliffs by slashing the original plan of 144-foot height to 69 feet that matches the tree-line canopy on the site. The maximum height in the borough was 35 feet.

Visit the Palisades Parks Commission website at www.palisadesparks to learn more about the nearby parks, special events and how we can be involved in their protection. Update: In 2019, Palisades residents Simon and Stefany Bergson donated four acres of their property, which is located behind the RT 9W Market, to the NYNJ Trail Conference. Sometime in the future, the plan is to create a trail connecting this property to the existing Tallman trail.

The PPC oversees the raising of vital funds used for the protection, public education and advocacy of more than 130,000 acres consisting of twenty state parks and eight American Revolution sites. Some of the state parks are Tallman, Hook Mountain, Blauvelt, High Tor, Highland Lakes, Rockland Lake, Nyack Beach, Palisades Interstate Park, Goosepond Mountain, Bear Mountain/Trailside Zoo and points north to Harriman, Sterling Forest and