Jim Bonesteel

The Rensselaer Plateau Alliance (RPA) is an environmental nonprofit organization that works with the community to promote land conservation on the Rensselaer Plateau in eastern New York. The Rensselaer Plateau is one of the largest and most ecologically intact native habitats in New York State. The preservation of this landscape for future generations is the vision of the Rensselaer Plateau Alliance. The Plateau covers about 118,000 acres in the towns of Berlin, Brunswick, Grafton, Hoosick, Nassau, Petersburgh, Pittstown, Poestenkill, Sand Lake, Stephentown and the Village of East Nassau. An escarpment steeply rising from the surrounding lower elevations marks the Plateau’s boundary. The Plateau’s relatively high elevations (1,000 – 1,800 feet) and cool climate, acidic soils, and its poor drainage contribute to plants, forests, and wetlands more similar to the Adirondacks than to the surrounding local area.