Keeping Traditions Alive: First Day Walk at Mount Loretto Unique Area

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation offered two walks on Staten Island at Mount Loretto Unique Area and at St. Francis Woodlands in celebration of New Year’s Day.

Our tradition has been to organize the First Day Walk at Mount Loretto Unique Area, which had been so ably led by Cliff in past years. We were determined to continue that tradition this year. And it would be new for me, as this was my first time participating.

Mount Loretto (Credit: Lisa Porazzo)

The day was blustery and cold, sunny and invigorating. I arrived early and was joined by a varied group of adults and families with children. Many were birders, and most people seemed to know each other, with acquaintances cultivated from participating in past walks. That was nice to see. We were incredibly fortunate to be joined by two DEC educators, and I took the opportunity during the walk to share our work with them and to learn about DEC’s work in environmental education with young people, a commitment shared by Protectors.

While we were collecting names, I spoke about the 50th anniversary of Protectors and how much Staten Island has benefited from the work we’ve accomplished over the decades. I spoke about the history of Mount Loretto, how in the '90s the Catholic Archdiocese of NY made the pivotal decision to unload approximately 200 acres of their sizable historic property situated along the shore of Raritan Bay.

I was reminded how John Cardinal O'Connor, who had often used the house on the high bluff as a retreat, really wanted to preserve Mount Loretto and how he was advised to contact Protectors for help. Ellen Pratt personally met with officials in the archdiocese and helped convince them to sell the property to the state. That sale would have only been possible because of money raised through the Environmental Bond Fund. The incredibly unique, open space, meadow-dominated, grassland in a heavily urban area made it a perfect and natural candidate for preservation. The property was purchased through funding and collaborative efforts between the Trust for Public Land, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the US Department of Justice and the US Environmental Protection Agency, and grants secured by Senators Schumer and Clinton, Congressman Fossella, and the support of Congressman Jose Serrano in 1999, according to the DEC website.

That was twenty-six years ago and, since then, the management of the property has increased its value as a vital habitat. Even on this winter day, birders identified herons, kingfishers and our resident stars, the bald eagles. Astonishingly, one bald eagle perched proudly on a low branch of a nearby tree, to be enjoyed even by those of us without binoculars.

The other, often unsung, component of this area is the open space itself, that acts as an overarching canvas for the habitat below. The sky unfolds over open, unobstructed land and water, stretching out to the horizon. There is a natural lifting of the spirits that makes us, well, soar!

The end of a walk at the beginning of the year, with more to come. (Credit: H. Lofaso)

Extra features:

Please click through to this Mount Loretto video featuring past president Cliff Hagen.

Drone footage of the entire Mount Loretto property can be enjoyed here and here.