The Nyquist-Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary exists to ensure that current and future generations in New Paltz and the wider community of the Lower Hudson Valley have a place where they can enjoy nature in a “forever wild” setting.
Located on Huguenot Street in the town and village of New Paltz, the 56 acres of property comprising the Sanctuary has relatively open areas dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants. These provide rich and varied habitat opportunities for a wide range of plants and animals. The Sanctuary includes an “oxbow,” a complex of ponds and wetlands remaining from a tightly-curved meander cut off when the Wallkill River straightened its course hundreds of years ago.
The Sanctuary has over 1,300 feet of frontage on the Wallkill River and adjoins the Jewett and Khosla properties, two historic Huguenot farms totaling more than 180 acres. The Sanctuary also adjoins land owned by the Village of New Paltz containing the Gardens for Nutrition, a community-supported public gardening area. Nearby is Historic Huguenot Street featuring seven stone houses dating to 1705, a burying ground, and a reconstructed 1717 stone church all in their original village setting. Historic Huguenot Street offers six acres of landscaped green space and public programming to the local community and visitors from around the world.
Interesting Facts about the
Nyquist-Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary
- The flood plain forest is an especially rare ecosystem regionally that serves as a habitat and travel corridor for many animal species.
- 140 species of birds in and around the sanctuary have been observed over a 12-year period. 36 are on the Audubon list of birds of conservation concern in NY.
- The rich farmland within the oxbow has been in production for almost 400 years since Huguenot settlement and probably was farmed by Native Americans long before European settlement.
- The sanctuary contains about half an oxbow, a complex of ponds and wetlands remaining from a tightly curved meander cutoff when the Wallkill River straightened its course.
- The sanctuary has over 1300 feet of frontage on the Wallkill River with a viewscape of the Shawangunk Mountains.
Birding in the Sanctuary
Marsh species - Sora Rail, Snipe, Empidonax flycatchers, and even a Sedge Wren - have been found here. Orioles and Common Yellowthroats nest. In the fall, many sparrows visit the Gardens for Nutrition adjacent to the Sanctuary. On autumn nights listen for Great Horned and Screech Owls. Bluebirds and woodpeckers stay all winter.