When Dr. Doris Nagel (née Blum) began to feel constrained by the Central Park location of her psychiatric office, she began to look for a rural refuge. Since this was in the pre-internet days, she found herslef looking int he classifieds of the New York Times and came across an advertisement for a large tract of land and a country home in northern Lewis County. Doris soon visited what would become her cherished home away from home, a then-decrepit 1890s farmhouse situated on 220+ acres on the north side of the upper reaches of the Indian River.

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Soon after acquiring the Natural Bridge property, Doris married the love of her life, Columbia University professor of astrophysics, Norman Baker. Norman shared her admiration for the North Country, and the couple eventually purchased an adjoining tract of 130+ acres on the the south side of the Indian River. These two tracts form the basis for what is today known as the Baker Woods Preserve (BWP).

 

The Bakers vigorously rehabilitated and restored the old farmhouse, cleared the property of much of the old and broken agricultural equipment that had accumulated, and began to employ forward-thinking forestry practices to benefit the regenerating woodlands. A prominent feature of the BWP is a 70-acre red pine plantation that was planted in 1953. That plantation has since matured and is beginning to transition into a mixed deciduous and conifer forest that blends into the older growth woods that surrounds it.

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Doris resists calling her spot on the Indian River the “headwaters” as the river actually originates many circuitous miles upriver near the hamlet of Indian River. In high water, the river is navigable by canoe or kayak. Fauna abounds in, on, and around the tannin-hewed river including brown trout, blue heron, black bear, and the occasional passing moose. The forest boasts impressive specimens of hemlock, white pine, and cherry, to name a few.

 

Doris and Norm were stewards of the land, stewards of the community, and well-loved neighbors. It was welcome if unsurprising news that Doris decided to donate this pristine land to be preserved forever and responsibly shared by all.

 

Serendipity led Doris to the land we now call the Baker Woods Preserve. Her shared appreciation for the land with Norman led to her decision to entrust the property to the stewardship of the Indian River Lakes Conservancy (IRLC). Since August 2016, the Baker Woods Preserve has been open to the public as an accessible, safe, healthy, and enjoyable recreational and educational location for future generations.

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Thank you, Doris and Norman.