The ink has dried on a major land preservation deal announced in the last term of the Pataki administration.

The 2004 pact with International Paper protecting 257,000 acres of forest and wetlands via conservation easements was finalized this week by New York State.

Under the agreement, much of the land will be open for hiking, snowmobiling, river access and canoe routes, while still allowing a private company to engage in "sustainable forestry."

For details on the arrangement, read about it here [1].