How we got started.

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The Preserve was founded in 1974 when Tim and Peg Spencer Behrendt bought 

    3.5 acres on Shawangunk Road in Cold Brook, N.Y. This place 

    was chosen because no highways or other human sounds could be heard. They 

    dismantled a small hay shed, gathered old windows and other pieces of 

    discarded lumber and recycled it into a small house on their small parcel of 

    deep forest wetland

    This was the Vietnam War era and they wanted to create and live in a place 

    where senseless killing and destruction didn’t exist.

    It didn’t take long for them to realize that their small sanctuary was 

    compromised by neighboring hunters, trappers, and loggers. Piece by piece, 

    they bought adjacent parcels of property as they were put up for sale, as 

    the money could be raised, and land partners found to help finance the 

    purchase. By living a lifestyle that required low capital, they were able to 

    put a major portion of their earnings into land.

    This lifestyle entailed driving old VW’s without heaters, with frames supported 

    by lumber wired to the underside, and hiking ½ mile after work in the winter 

    through deep snow to get home to their unheated cottage, carrying groceries 

    on their backs. They started out with candles and kerosene lamps for lights, 

    and a small wood stove that wouldn’t hold a fire through the night. The 

    insulation was minimal at first. A candle set on the floor would blow out.

    Over time, they added solar power, and now use a combination of solar and ecologically produced      commercial power. (They do not wish to support nuclear power, an industry that 

    leaves dangerous waste for centuries).  They've added more insulation, a better wood stove, 

    back-up LP heaters and many, many more acres that are now forever wild, 

    protected from logging, hunting, trapping as long as there is a Board of 

    Directors for the Preserve dedicated to it’s continuation and preservation. 

    Should it be necessary to dissolve the Preserve in its present form, the 

    Board is legally committed to turn over the lands to a similar organization 

    to continue its  preservation objectives..

    The primary purpose of the Preserve is protection of the Preserve lands. 

    This is facilitated by posting and patrolling. Hunting, trapping, 

    lumbering, and recreational vehicles are not allowed. Major alteration of the flora, fauna and 

    topographic structure of the property are not allowed. This makes it 

    possible for the life forms on these lands to live with minimal human 

    impact.

    Because these lands are protected, we are able to offer a natural and safe 

    environment to the general public in which to offer educational services and 

    cultural programs to foster enjoyment and appreciation of nature.

    The philosophy behind this is called “ahimsa” the philosophical basis of 

    Mahatma Gandhi. This means “minimal harm”. Realizing that it is impossible 

    to live without having some impact and destruction of other life-forms 

    (animals and plants) at the Preserve, we try to minimize that impact while 

    experiencing a worthwhile existence. The criteria for this must vary 

    according to individual needs and the environment we live in, therefore, 

    ahimsa is a subjective concept. There are no absolutes. What is minimal harm 

    in one case may not be in another.

    In this Preserve, we also practice democratic decision making including 

    “seats” representing the interest of land, sky, water, vegetation and 

    wildlife. We value such things as; recycling, a small human population 

    within the preserve, organic gardening, frugal water use, 

    renewable – safe and well used energy, vegetarian or near vegetarian diet, 

    movement towards self-sufficiency, holistic health practices and simple life 

    styles.