The park itself constitutes the bulk of these former watershed lands - about 2100 Hectares.

The Giuliani administration is trying to conclude delicate negotiations over the protection of upstate watershed lands, in which Ms. Gelber has played a central role.

When the city of San Francisco took over the watershed lands, narrow winding, Sawyer Camp Trail was then a county road.

Hiking and hunting on the related watershed lands were also banned.

Much of Ragged Mountain has been conserved as nature preserve, rock climbing preserve, and as public watershed lands.

What the extension added, they said, was the power to impose rather than recommend development bans on critical watershed lands while guaranteeing that owners were compensated.

It is surrounded by woodlands, part of the reservoir's protected watershed lands, all owned, like the bridge, by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

It's just the good forested watershed lands that are still in private hands that need to be protected.

Some badly deteriorated watershed lands were restored and the area was turned over to the U.S. Forest Service as a part of the Cache National Forest.

Although a large portion of the mountain lies within protected watershed lands, much of mountain is located on private land.