GARDINER, N.Y. (AP) _ New York will expand the Minnewaska State Park Preserve with the $17 million purchase of a prominent piece of land along the Shawangunk Ridge, conservationists said Tuesday.

The 2,500-acre parcel in Ulster County was sold to The Trust for Public Land on Friday and immediately resold to New York state for the same price, according to trust spokeswoman Susan Clark. The sale was considered a coup for environmentalists since it came just years after plans to develop the ridge land were unveiled.

"If we hadn't protected this, it would certainly have been developed ... and would have been lost to the people of New York," Clark said.

State Parks Commissioner Bernadette Castro was to make the official announcement of the land purchase at a news conference being held at Minnewaska State Park late Tuesday morning.

Minnewaska is nestled in a ridge that extends about 50 miles from near the Hudson River southwest into New Jersey. The ridge's sheer cliffs make it a favorite spot for rock climbers.

A plan to clear space on the ridge for 349 homes and a golf course sparked local of opposition several years ago. But Awosting Reserve LLC general partner John Atwater Bradley clashed with the company chosen to develop the site, Chaffin/Light Associates, and fired the firm.

Chaffin/Light sued Bradley and won, resulting in a Delaware judge ordering the land be put up for sale.

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