Hike to Pine Island
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- January
- 26
Counterfeiters were once thought to call Pine Island in Patterson home. The 30 acres of hemlocks and rocky outcroppings rising from the Great Swamp served as a hideout for the funny-money men as they passed out fake Rhode Island currency — and possibly New York and Connecticut script also — in the decades before the Revolutionary War.
The Friends of the Great Swamp bought the parcel in 2004 as part of their effort to protect one of the state’s largest freshwater wetlands. On Sunday, you can hike to the island, which is only truly an island during times of high water. And, it’s easier to get to when that water is frozen.
The Putnam County Land Trust is organizing the sojourn.
Sunday February 1st 1:00 Hike to Pine Island with Judy Kelley Moberg; co-sponsored by the Friends of the Great Swamp. Meet at the Patterson Recreation Center for a two –hour hike to Pine Island in the midst of the frozen waters of the swamp and if weather permits, seeing the tracks of otter, coyote, and bobcat among many signs of winter. Registration Required at 878-7740. (If weather does not cooperate, another route will substitute.)
The photo, by TJN photographer Stuart Bayer, shows former Pine Island owners Stephen and Rebecca Kessman shortly after they sold the land. Pine Island can be seen on the right, just past Stephen’s shoulder. It’s easily visible from either Cornwall Hill Road or Route 22 in Patterson.
This entry was posted
on Monday, January 26th, 2009 at 12:13 pm by Mike Risinit.
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Journal News staff writer Greg Clary writes Earth Watch, reporting on environmental issues in the lower Hudson region. Clary has been a reporter, editor and columnist at the Journal News since 1988 and has covered police and courts, transportation, municipal government, development and the environment in the Lower Hudson Valley, among other topics. 
Laura Incalcaterra covers the environment, open space and zoning and planning issues for The Journal News. A Boston College graduate, Laura grew up in Rockland, attended East Ramapo schools and has worked for The Journal News since 1993. Laura has written features and covered North Rockland, crime, government and a host of other issues.
Mike Risinit covers Patterson and Kent in Putnam County, as well as environmental topics touching on the Hudson River and the Great Swamp. Risinit has been a reporter at The Journal News since 1998.
