The park was established in 1998 after New York State paid $55 million for 15,280 acres (61.8 km2) of land using a combination of public and private funds. The Trust for Public Land and the Open Space Institute (OSI) lead the negotiations for the initial purchase leading to the creation of the park.[7] The initiative to achieve this goal was led by the Public-Private Partnership to Save Sterling Forest, consisting of New York and New Jersey conservation organizations and chaired by Robert O. Binnewies, Executive Director of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission.[8][3][9]