2018 SUCCESS STORIES

The dramatic escarpment of the Shawangunk Ridge. The verdant forests of the Southern Cumberland Plateau. The paddling paradise of South Carolina’s Black River.

As OSI looks back upon the previous 12 months, we measure success not only in terms of the landscapes we touch, but also by the lives and communities that benefit from our land protection.

This was another extraordinary year for OSI. In all, we have conserved some 46,000 acres, and are on track to protect another 37,000 by year’s end. And yet our achievements go well beyond these numbers.

In New York, not only did the almost 8,300 acres we are slated to protect further safeguard the storied Shawangunks, we also celebrated the grand opening of the 6-mile River-to-Ridge Trail, across 360 acres of OSI-protected land, and provided linkages to more than 100 miles of trails and carriage roads across the Shawangunk Ridge.

In Tennessee, our 2018 “Saving the Southern Cumberlands” Story Map tells the story of OSI’s conservation work on the Southern Cumberland Plateau, where we are on track to have partnered in the protection of approximately 5,000 acres and further expanded South Cumberland State Park, a favorite escape for residents of Chattanooga and beyond.

And our work continues to grow in the Southeast, as we conserved more than 2,800 acres of forests, trails, and paddling access points in South Carolina in 2018, from the mountains to the sea. The future is bright in this region as we build on more than 10,000 acres of success and look to expand into other states.

Read on to learn more about OSI’s 2018 work to protect land for people, for wildlife, forever.