New York State — Andy Arthur.org

New York State 📍

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. New York is the 27th-most extensive, the 3rd-most populous, and the 7th-most densely populated of the 50 United States. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east. The state has a maritime border with Rhode Island east of Long Island, as well as an international border with the Canadian provinces of Ontario to the west and north, and Quebec to the north. The state of New York is often referred to as New York State to distinguish it from New York City.

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There are approximately 1,500 head of cattle permitted to graze within the Finger Lakes National Forest. [1]

The livestock are managed directly by the Hector Cooperative Grazing Association. The cattle rotate through 35 to 40 designated public pastures covering roughly 4,500 to 4,800 acres of open grassland. [1, 2, 3]

Key Grazing Details

The Seasonal Timeline: The cattle are brought to the forest pastures in mid-spring on May 15 and roam freely until they are rounded up and returned to their home farms on October 15 or 31. [1, 2]
Types of Cattle: The herds primarily consist of beef and dairy cattle, consisting largely of cow-calf pairs, breeding bulls, and young 1- to 2-year-old yearlings. [3, 4]
Co-Op Membership: The cattle belong to local independent livestock owners and dairy farmers across the region who pay dues to the cooperative to access the shared public lands. [5, 6]
Sharing the Trails: Because the cattle roam freely across a third of the forest, hikers using systems like the Interloken Trail will directly encounter them. Trails utilize specialized latched livestock gates to keep the herds contained. [7, 8, 9]

[1] https://www.americanforests.org
[2] https://www.cornellsun.com
[3] https://www.ithaca.com
[4] https://www.agproud.com
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org
[6] https://www.causeiq.com
[7] https://www.gofingerlakes.org
[8] https://www.lifeinthefingerlakes.com
[9] https://www.lifeinthefingerlakes.com