Open Space Institute's New Land Acquisition in the Catskills

On this week's show, we'll be discussing Open Space Institute's (OSI) new land acquisition in the Town of Neversink of 3,100 acres. Known as "Blue Hill", this purchase represents the largest potential addition to the NYS DEC forest preserve in 25 years. OSI plans to turn over this property to the DEC in the future.  "The Open Space Institute protects scenic, natural and historic landscapes to provide public enjoyment, conserve habitat and working lands, and sustain communities." Tom Gravel is a senior land project manager at the Open Space Institute (OSI) where he manages the conservation of open space and environmentally sensitive lands in the Catskills, Hudson Valley, and northern New Jersey by facilitating complex real estate transactions. After graduating from Middlebury College, Tom began his career in land conservation in 2004 with the Trust for Public Land before joining OSI in 2012. Abigail Weinberg is Vice President for Science & Conservation Policy for the Open Space Institute (OSI). She develops nature-based solutions to climate change, water quality and land-based inequities. Her work translating science to conservation practice and policies informs the work of foundations, state and federal agencies and land conservation organizations. Her recent work focused on using data and tools to optimize forest carbon mitigation through land protection and quantifying the impact of land protection on water quality.  Abby has a Master of Forestry degree from the Yale School of Forestry and Bachelors degree from St. John’s College (the “Great Books School”), Santa Fe.