5,000 Trees Planted at Cuddebackville Preserve

The project could improve water quality in the Basher Kill stream and lead to recreational development.

Saplings at the Lower Bashakill Preserve in the hamlet of Cuddebackville, N.Y., on May 6, 2026. Oliver Mantyk/The Epoch Times

MIDDLETOWN, N.Y.—The Orange County Land Trust partnered with the Nature Conservancy to plant 5,000 native trees on the Lower Bashakill Preserve in Cuddebackville in the town of Deerpark from April 27 to 28.

The trees were planted in a floodplain preserve next to the Basher Kill stream, a tributary of the Neversink River. The 11 species of native trees will help establish forest cover, improve water quality in the stream, and create a wildlife habitat, the land trust said.