Saratoga PLAN Celebrates Conservation Milestones and Unveils Plans for New Trailhead at Graphite Range Community Forest
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY, September 24, 2025 – Local non-profit conservation organization, Saratoga PLAN (Preserving Land and Nature) held its fourth annual PLAN for the Future fundraising dinner on Thursday, September 18th. The event drew a sold-out crowd of environmentally minded supporters for an evening celebrating local conservation successes and raised nearly $100,000 for the organization.
The evening began with a welcome from Saratoga PLAN’s new Chair of the Board, Jessica Schwartzman, who highlighted the lasting significance of local conservation and the organization’s renewed mission, “Saratoga PLAN stewards and protects farms, forests, and waters of the Saratoga region and the southern Adirondack foothills – now and forever. Tonight is an investment into forever because that’s how long our work lasts. The opposite is also true though. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever. Thank you for being here, for believing in this work, and for being the reason PLAN can continue on.”
Kicking off the program, Executive Director Rob Davies announced PLAN’s latest land acquisition, the “Northern Gateway,” a 20-acre property in the Town of Greenfield that will expand Graphite Range Community Forest (GRCF) to the north. Opened in late 2023, GRCF is Saratoga County’s first federally recognized community forest and has already become a recreational hub, serving as a key access point to the envisioned 50-mile Sarah B. Foulke Friendship Trails Network (SBFFTN). Once completed, the SBFFTN will feature a core trail connecting the City of Saratoga Springs to the northernmost corner of Moreau Lake State Park.
In announcing the project, Davies expressed gratitude to those who made it possible: “Thank you to Ethan Winter, the former landowner, for your generosity, perseverance, and vision. Thank you as well to the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors and Town of Greenfield for supporting the project AND finally another big thank you to Rick Higgins, an Emeritus Board Member of PLAN for underwriting this acquisition.”
The vision for Northern Gateway is to offer a second trailhead featuring more accessible walking paths with gentler grades. Saratoga County will enter into a memorandum of agreement with Saratoga PLAN for the addition and development of the Northern Gateway parcels to the Graphite Range Community Forest. Once all improvements are completed, the ownership of the land will be transferred at no cost to the County with Saratoga PLAN as the designated land manager. Saratoga PLAN and the County routinely partner on conservation projects to permanently protect agricultural and open space lands including farmland, natural areas, wildlife habitats, preserves, and other important open spaces within Saratoga County.
The evening continued with Saratoga PLAN’s event honorees, who were recognized for their dedication and extraordinary contributions to local conservation.
This year’s honorees included:
Conservation Hero Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, Saratoga Lake Association, and Stewart’s Shops for their contributions in the permanent protection of Snake Hill, the iconic forested dome on the eastern side of Saratoga Lake;
Conservation Hero Barry Ostrager, who placed 280 acres of his Stillwater horse farm, Questroyal North, under protection, connecting more than 4,500 acres of protected lands near Saratoga Battlefield; and
Conservation Heroes Jan Kropp and Chuck Rowson, who protected their 81 acres of forestland in the Town of Moreau, creating a protected wooded buffer to Moreau Lake State Park;
Volunteers of the Year, Tom Nelson and Ann Henderson, who were recognized for their commitment to caring for the lands that PLAN protects. The duo has been actively volunteering for over 14 years after retiring in 2011 and collect all volunteer hours for the organization; and
Conservation Champion Awardee Jim Sevinsky. During Jim’s 40-year legal career with the NY Attorney General’s Office, he led the Environmental Protection Bureau in landmark cases including Love Canal cleanup, acid rain litigation in the Adirondacks, and advocacy to strengthen the Clean Air Act. A lifelong resident of the region, Jim has dedicated nine years to PLAN’s Board and continues to serve on the Emeritus Board.
Reflecting on the work ahead, Executive Director Robert Davies emphasized the ongoing challenges of land conservation in the region: “As many of you know, the work of land conservation is not easy… for every acre conserved in Saratoga County, 1.8 acres are converted and lost to development of some kind. We are losing almost twice as much as we are protecting.” He added, “We are working hard and making the changes necessary to enable PLAN to pick up the pace of land protection and trail connections for the benefit of all. But we can’t do it alone. So, please, let’s pull on our bootstraps starting tonight and work together as a community to protect the lands most important to us!”
About Saratoga PLAN
Saratoga PLAN stewards and protects farms, forests, and waters of the Saratoga region and the southern Adirondack foothills – now and forever.
Saratoga PLAN (Preserving Land and Nature) has helped conserve over 14,000 acres of land in Saratoga County. PLAN helps landowners conserve farmland, woodlands, and natural habitats, and connects people to nature through an extensive trail network, including 13 public nature preserves open for hiking, biking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and nature study. Saratoga PLAN helps communities create plans that balance growth with conservation to sustain the Saratoga Region as a great place to live, work, visit, play and farm. PLAN facilitates community-based conservation by partnering with municipalities to help them accomplish their community’s conservation goals.
For more information, call 518-587-5554, or visit www.saratogaplan.org.
###