The Copake Hillsdale Rail Trail Alliance announced Tue., Jan. 3, it has raised the matching funds required by a $121,965 New York State grant, putting the proposed extension of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail closer to reality. The grant from the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation totals $162,620 with the $40,655 matching amount raised by the community group. The money, which will be administered by the Columbia Land Conservancy, will be used to hire a firm to design a trail with final construction drawings, as well as necessary supporting studies, for the five-mile extension. The Harlem Valley Rail Trail currently ends in Copake Falls. The new section will run north from there through Hillsdale. The expanded trail will link the two communities to the new Roe Jan Community Library and Roe Jan Park with a safe, off-road path for bikers, walkers, runners and cross-country skiers of all ages. “We are thrilled that residents of Copake and Hillsdale have contributed generously to the matching amount we were required to raise,” said Nancy Schultz, a Copake resident who is co-chair of the rail trail alliance.