The Ridgetop Lakes Conservancy announced this past week that it had acquired 35 acres of environmentally sensitive land along the boundary between the towns of Mamakating and Thompson, just south of Exit 111 on Route 17.

The property drains into Yankee Lake and will now be protected as watershed land.

“This acquisition fits precisely with our mission of protecting the freshwater lakes and natural habitats on the Shawangunk and Mount Prosper ridgetops. It reflects the kind of lasting safeguards we strive to achieve,” said Robert F. Rogers, president of the Ridgetop Lakes Conservancy (RLC).

The RLC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting land on the Shawangunk and Mount Prosper ridges. It grew out of the Yankee Lake Preservation Association, which was formed to protect the private lake and its surroundings.

Run by volunteers, the conservancy reflects a strong commitment to preserving the natural environment. The ridgetop areas provide habitat for a variety of plants and animals, some of which are found nowhere else.

Rob Rogers, now a Mamakating Town Council member representing Ward 4, said the conservancy was established in response to development proposals that threatened the area.

“We originally formed the Ridgetop Lakes Conservancy to buy and protect property during the days when China City was being promoted here,” he said.

China City was an ambitious proposal introduced about 15 years ago to develop a large housing project in Sullivan County for wealthy Chinese nationals seeking to move to the United States. The project drew considerable local opposition and later evolved into the Thompson Education Center, a proposed for-profit college that would pay taxes and be built on land in the Town of Thompson.

The proposed center was envisioned as a campus for 2,500 students, with six group houses and additional facilities for education and athletics. The project's last presentation was made in January 2017 by CEO Sherry Li to the Monticello Rotary Club. In 2025, Li pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy charges related to the Sullivan County projects.

Although the threat posed by those development proposals appears to have faded, invasive plants and insects continue to threaten the region. The RLC works to combat these threats alongside other conservation organizations, including the Basha Kill Area Association.

Rogers noted that channels in the Basha Kill are threatened by water chestnut (Trapa natans), an aquatic plant introduced to North America in the 19th century as an ornamental for ponds. It forms dense, floating mats that can choke waterways. In parts of its native range, the leaf beetle Galerucella birmanica feeds on its floating leaves, while the weevil Bagous rufimanus attacks its fruiting stems. These natural controls are absent here.

“There are also problems with phragmites. And Japanese barberry is everywhere around here,” Rogers added.

Knotweed and other invasive plants are widespread in the region as well.

Following the 35-acre acquisition, Rogers said the conservancy hopes to expand its protected holdings.

“We are actually discussing some additional land. We hope eventually to acquire about 250 acres,” he said.

Rogers added that the RLC has established good relationships with the Orange County Land Trust and the Open Space Institute.

“Our mission is to keep things wild and to protect the watershed,” Rogers said.