Rick Karlin is reporting for the Times Union the state of New York has finalized the purchase of nearly 5,800 acres in the Taconic Mountains in Rensselaer County intended to protect open space as well as hiking, hunting and other outdoor activities near the Vermont and Massachusetts borders. The lands acquired by the state from The Conservation Fund include just under 2,500 acres adjoining the Taconic Ridge State Forest and 3,340 acres being added to the Berlin State Forest. Much of the Taconic area is near the Taconic Crest Trail which runs 37 miles from near North Pownal, Vermont, across New York’s Petersburg Pass to near Pittsfield, Mass. The trail also runs through the popular Snow Hole, a cave-like crevice north of the pass that often retains snow until late in the season. The state Department of Environmental Conservation recently acquired the four old Cowee Forest parcels, known as the Stickles, Nugent, East Mountain, and Misery Mountain tracts, from The Conservation Fund using $4.85 million from the state Environmental Protection Fund. These acquisitions will double the size of the Taconic Ridge and Berlin state forests and provide critical connections to recreational resources, including access to the Taconic Crest Trail. The purchases also protect tributaries of the Little Hoosic River, one of New York State’s wild trout streams. Read the full story in the Times Union.