One of the great things about living in the Saratoga / Glens Falls region is the easy access to outdoor recreation. The Adirondacks are just stone's throw away, but there are some amazing outdoor resources literally out the back door. If you live in or near Saratoga and don't already know about the
Wilton Wildlife Preserve and Park, its outdoor recreation opportunities and interesting ecology, you need to get introduced. The lupine is in bloom and the first hatch of Karner blue butterflies are emerging, so now is a great time to visit.
WWPP has been featured in several news stories recently, including pieces in
The Saratogian and the
Times Union about the restored fire tower that was dedicated recently, and a pair of pieces I wrote for Spirit of Saratoga (a monthly magazine published by The Saratogian) last month. The Spirit of Saratoga pieces don't link well, so they're reprinted below:
Oasis for Butterflies, Wildlife, People
Many area residents are familiar with the Wilton Wildlife Preserve & Park for its recreational opportunities, but some may not realize that those protected lands and open spaces owe their existence to the presence of a small, but strikingly beautiful, endangered butterfly. The Karner blue butterfly once inhabited a broad geographic range from Maine to Minnesota and north into Canada, but now exists in just a few locations in the northeast. In the mid-1990s, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, The Nature Conservancy, and the Town of Wilton partnered to form the Wilton Wildlife Preserve & Park (WWPP) with the goal of not only preserving habitat for the Karner blue butterfly, but also providing recreational and educational opportunities for people. Since that time, approximately 2400 acres of land has been protected with 14 miles of trails for recreational use, and WWPP now supports the largest population of Karner blues in the northeast.
