History of the Foundation

North Salem is unique. Located only 50 miles from Manhattan, but worlds apart, North Salem has uninterrupted views of rolling countryside, miles of post and rail fences, stone walls, numerous meadows and horse paddocks that create the rural character we love. From some vantage points, you can see as far as the foothills of the Catskill Mountains.

The town dates back to 1731 and encompasses an area of approximately 23 square miles, with a population of 5,200 residents.

Open space is the soul of North Salem and defines who we are and why we are here. Our rural character is fragile and could easily change. The town encompasses just 14,000 acres, and there are many large parcels that are undeveloped. The transfer of any of those parcels to developers would irreparably change the town.

The North Salem Open Land Foundation (NSOLF) is committed to preserving the natural beauty of North Salem and protecting the open space to provide refuge for wildlife, and we have been doing this for the past 42 years.

In 1974, a group of North Salem residents, hoping to preserve undeveloped space in North Salem founded the North Salem Open Land Foundation.

From this beginning, NSOLF has grown dramatically. NSOLF currently owns 25 parcels of land, totaling roughly 847 acres and holds conservation easements over another 469 acres. These 1316 acres will remain preserved and undeveloped forever and most of this land is available to the public for walking, riding, cross-country skiing and other forms of passive recreation.

The Foundation preserves these lands through acquisition and a conservation easement program. Proactive acquisitions have occurred through land owner outreach in areas of North Salem that fall within the Croton Watershed, which contain NYC watershed lands, or the Eastern Westchester Biotic Corridor.