By: Mary Heed, Council Member, Town of Cornwall & Liaison to the Cornwall Conservation Advisory Council - The Cornwall Local - June 3, 2026
Cornwall’s natural beauty is not incidental to who we are. It is part of the reason people choose to live here, raise families here, retire here, and stay here.
Our mountains, forests, streams, farmland, scenic vistas, historic landscapes, and open spaces are not background scenery. They are central to Cornwall’s identity, our quality of life, and the future we want to leave to those who come after us.
As the Town Board’s liaison to the Cornwall Conservation Advisory Committee, I have had the opportunity to see firsthand how much serious work has already been done — and how strongly Cornwall residents care about protecting the character of this community.
This is not a new concern. For years, Cornwall residents have made clear that they value open space, clean water, natural resources, scenic beauty, and historic places. The Town has not simply talked about these priorities. It has taken important steps to identify and understand what needs to be protected.
Working with the Cornwall Conservation Advisory Council, the Hudson Highlands Land Trust, the Orange County Land Trust, the Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson, and other partners, the Town helped complete the Natural Resources Inventory and the Open Space Plan, together known as the Cornwall Natural Heritage Plan. That work identified the natural resources, open-space corridors, and environmentally sensitive areas that matter most to Cornwall’s future.
Now, under the leadership of Supervisor Josh Wojehowski, and through the work of the current Comprehensive Plan Committee, those priorities are being carried forward in the Draft Comprehensive Plan Update. The draft plan recognizes that Cornwall’s future must include stronger protection for open space, drinking-water resources, wetlands, streams, forests, wildlife habitat, agricultural lands, scenic views, and historic resources.
These are important steps forward. But they should not be the final step.
I believe the time has come for Cornwall to begin developing a Community Preservation Plan.
A Community Preservation Plan would build directly on the work already completed by the Conservation Advisory Council and reflected in the draft Comprehensive Plan. It would take the next practical step: identifying specific properties, corridors, resources, and conservation opportunities that may warrant voluntary preservation because of their environmental, scenic, agricultural, recreational, or historic importance.
That could include lands that help protect drinking-water supplies, stream corridors, and floodplains; properties that connect existing forest habitats near Storm King, Black Rock Forest, and Schunnemunk; remaining agricultural lands and scenic landscapes; historic places that tell Cornwall’s story; and opportunities for future trails and public access.
It is important to be clear about what this does — and does not — mean.
A Community Preservation Plan is not about forcing landowners to give up their property. Preservation efforts are voluntary. They occur only when willing property owners choose to participate, whether through conservation easements, purchase of development rights, or land acquisition.
What a Community Preservation Plan would do is give Cornwall a thoughtful, orderly, locally guided roadmap. It would help us decide, in advance, what places are most important to protect and why. It would allow the Town to act strategically rather than react piecemeal as development pressures arise.
Cornwall is fortunate. We still have remarkable natural and historic resources. But good fortune is not a plan. If we want future generations to inherit the Cornwall we know and love, we have to do the work now.
The groundwork has been laid. The public values are clear. The planning process is already pointing us in the right direction.
Now is the time to take the next step.
Cornwall should begin the process of creating a Community Preservation Plan.