+ Why are trees important?

Trees play a significant role in diminishing erosion and storm water runoff of pollutants and sediments and keep clean our drinking water in the Tuxedo Lake and Wee Wah Ponds. If not for trees, we would have needed taxpayers’ money to install costly man-made infrastructure and procedures. These bodies of water are part of the Ramapo River watershed that drains into the Ramapo River, which is the sole source of water to an aquifer that provides drinking water to millions in New York and New Jersey.

Trees sustain our clean air.

Trees contribute to the rustic character of our landscape and nurture a wildlife habitat rich in biodiversity. Our public and private woodlands provide the underpinning of our historical provenance (our listing on the National Register of Historic Places) and of our membership of Tree City USA.

According to the City of Portland, Oregon, a municipality that has taken an exemplary, progressive role in recognizing the value of trees:

“One large residential tree is estimated to produce $4,000 of total economic benefits over its first fifty years, and to increase sale values 6—9%.”

“The urban forest surrounds us and contributes to the quality of our daily lives. It provides environmental, psychological and economic benefits ranging from improved air and water quality to savings from decreased heating and cooling costs to aesthetically pleasing neighborhoods and increased resale values. It is vital to our efforts to restore fish and wildlife habitat and it provides countless opportunities for recreation and refreshment.

Without care and attention, a healthy urban forest cannot exist. The decisions we make now and the consequences of our actions determine how well or poorly the urban forest will function in ten, twenty and fifty years.”

+ History of trees in Tuxedo Park

In 1886, tobacco millionaire Pierre Lorillard IV founded Tuxedo Park. His vision was to create a hunting resort to serve New York’s social elite during the “autumn season”, but the place was transformed in the following decades into an exclusive suburb with year-round residents.

Postcards published in the first years of the Park showed a landscape with few trees. But Lorillard did not take out trees in order to build Tuxedo Park. Rather, the barren terrain was the result of Lorillard’s father having logged the area for timber.

The historic properties of Tuxedo Park were mostly built at the turn of the 20th century. This was an era when influential landscape architects led by Frederick Law Olmsted and his sons were reacting to the abuse of the landscape by relentless industrialization. They created designs that respected the local scenery and conserved natural resources, involving extensive restoration of forests and planting of native trees and shrubs.

When the early residents of Tuxedo Park built their houses, they embraced Olmsted’s vision. They planted thousands of trees, both native and specimen, as evidenced by the landscape plans and correspondences between property owners and their architects. Nature also replanted itself. This explains why postcards from 1910s onwards showed a verdant, forested landscape.

In 1980, when Tuxedo Park was nominated for the National Register of Historic Places, what the registrar saw - and appreciated - was the beauty of period houses situated in a forested environment. In other words, the basis of our historic listing today rests on trees as much as on houses.