The state has added 763 acres to Clarence Fahnestock Memorial State Park in Putnam and Dutchess counties helping to preserve one of the largest privately-owned undeveloped blocks in the Hudson Highlands region.

The land acquisition includes a 530-acre and a 233-acre parcel, both of which have been top priorities for the State Parks Department.

The 530-acre property was one of the largest privately-owned undeveloped forest blocks in the Highlands region. It is bordered by 5 ½ miles of Fahnestock State Park and is part of a highly scenic green corridor buffering Fahnestock to the century-old Fishkill Farms in Dutchess County.

The 233-acre property is an important connection of a northern green corridor that will enhance the local trail network as well as the Appalachian Trial.

Both parcels were acquired with 50 percent Highlands Conservation Act grant funding along with 50 percent from the state’s Environmental Protection Fund for a total of $3.64 million in funding.