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CONSERVATIONIST RECEIVES GOVERNOR"S AWARD - 12 December, 2003
Anne Sidamon-Eristoff and her brother, Howard Phipps, Jr. are the recipients of the 2003 Governor’s Parks and Preservation Awards. The award, announced last week by Gov. George E. Pataki, is presented annually to an individual, family or organization demonstrating an outstanding commitment to parkland, the environment and historic preservation in New York State.
"Through their leadership, Anne Sidamon-Eristoff and Howdy Phipps have made extraordinary contributions to the protection and preservation of New York's scenic and cultural resources,” said Pataki. "1 would like to express my deep gratitude on behalf of all New Yorkers, and hope that these awards will inspire others to dedicate themselves to safeguarding our natural environment and the Empire State's unique heritage.”
Anne Sidamon-Eristoff is the Chairman Emerita of the American Museum of Natural History, one of the leading conservation and education institutions in the country. She has been instrumental in the expansion of the museum, which includes the new Hall of Biodiversity and the Rose Center for Earth and Science. As a result of these programs, she has increased public awareness and understanding of the natural environment.
Anne Sidamon-Eristoff is also currently on the board of the Black
Rock Forest Consortium, the Hudson River Foundation and the Storm King Art Center, in Mountainville. She and her husband, Constantine, divide their time between New York City and the Hudson Highlands. The Eristoffs also own the News of the Highlands, Inc., the company which publishes both The Cornwall Local and
The News of the Highlands, in Highland Falls.
Howard Phipps, Jr., joined the board of the Wildlife Conservation Society in 1961 and has effectively advanced its important mission of preserving wildlife and open space through education.
"I am delighted that Gov. Pataki has highlighted the exceptional contributions of these two remarkable individuals, " said Bernadette Castro, commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. “The
Phipps family has a longstanding" tradition of advancing conservation, preservation, and education efforts in New York State. Carrying on their family's legacy of public service, civil leadership, and philanthropy, Anne
Sidamon- Eristoff and her brother Howard Phipps, Jr. have played particularly important roles in the protection, preservation and interpretation of our historic and natural environments.”
The awards were presented at the annual Parks and Preservation Award Dinner at The Pierre Hotel in New York City, hosted by the Friends of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. All proceeds will be used to fund the continued renovations at the Bear Mountain State Park complex, including the historic Bear Mountain Inn and the Trailside Museums and Zoo.
The Bear Mountain Inn restoration project will return one of the Palisade’s great architectural treasures to its original rustic charm while incorporating all the amenities of a world-class, environmentally friendly heritage tourism destination. The rehabilitation of the nearby Trailside Museums complex, which, with the help of the American Museum of Natural History, was established in the late 1920s as a nature education center, highlights the area’s geology, history
and environment through exhibits and wildlife displays and other learning experiences. Both of these properties are important components of the Palisades Interstate Park system that includes thousands of acres of environmentally and ecologically important lands.
The Governor’s Annual Parks and Preservation Awards program
1996. Former recipients include the late Frances S. Reese, noted environmentalist in the Hudson Valley and longtime leader of Scenic Hudson, Inc.; Bette Midler, for her commitment to improving the open spaces, parklands, roadsides and waterfront of New York City through the New York Restoration Project; Laurance S. Rockefeller, one of the nation’s leading conservationists; and David Rockefeller, who was instrumental in establishing the Rockefeller State Park Preserve on 1,000 acres of the family’s lands in Westchester.
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