The Orange County Land Trust is pleased to announce the appointment of Albert C. Valk to its Board of Directors.
Albert Valk served as Supervisor of the Town of Montgomery from 2000-2004 and as Montgomery Town Councilman from 1984-1999. He is the president and owner of Al Valk’s Garage, Ltd. of Montgomery and served as Consultant to the Orange County Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board.
Mr. Valk was instrumental in the protection of over 3,000 acres of land in the Town of Montgomery through PDR, or purchase of development rights, and through the creation of parks and other public lands, and the creation of protected areas required by cluster development. In addition, he led efforts to preserve 5 miles of shoreline along the Wallkill River, as well as private preserve lands. Mr. Valk was awarded the Distinguished Achievement Award for Environmental Planning and Preservation in 2002 from Mohonk Consultations, Inc. He is an Honorary Member and Past President of the Orange County Association of Supervisors and Mayors. He is also a Board Member and Past President of the Town of Montgomery Chamber of Commerce and a member and Past President of the Walden Rotary Club.
“We are delighted to have Al join the Orange County Land Trust as a member of our Board of Directors,” said Deanna Prisco, President of the OCLT. “His experience in the area of land protection for the Town of Montgomery will be very valuable for the Land Trust’s ongoing preservation efforts throughout the county.”
The Orange County Land Trust is the only county-wide land trust and to date has protected over 3,500 acres of land and working farms throughout the county. Working with landowners, the Land Trust’s area of expertise is preserving land through the placement and monitoring of conservation easements, working with individual property owners and municipalities to secure funding for the purchase of development rights (PDR’s), accepting donations of land, and purchasing land for public access. The Land Trust operates nine preserves in the county which are open to the public, free of charge, for hiking birding and other forms of passive recreation. The Land Trust also works closely with Orange County Planning Office to help implement the county’s open space plan, and spearheaded the formation of the Orange County Open Space Alliance (OCOSA), an alliance of 20 area conservation organizations.
For more information and for volunteer opportunities and ways of giving to the Orange County Land Trust, please visit the website at oclt.org.
