[1] A portion of the western side of the gorge, above Denton Falls, through High Falls, to the entrance of Eden Brook, is a private nature sanctuary called The Turner Brook Reserve;[2] the entire eastern side and the remaining western property is a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) controlled Unique Area, often called the Neversink Gorge Unique Area.

Monel, who was president of International Nickel and patented Monel Metal, was inspired by the conservation ethic established by John Burroughs and John Muir to purchase farms, tanneries and even entire towns, demolish the buildings and revert the land to its wild state.

Within this sportsperson's paradise, the greatest names in American fly fishing, Edward Ringwood Hewitt, George M. L. La Branche, Justin Askins, Phil Chase, and Theodore Gordon, have practiced their passion and refined their techniques.

[5] The Wechsler family, having made their fortune in coffee distribution, founded Restaurant Associates that at its peak owned 50 eateries in New York City.

With this wealth Philip Wechsler hired architect Eugene Schoen to build 5 homes on Gilman Pond in Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian style with the turn of the century stone structure that was Monel's mansion as the central "Lodge" named by Monel, The Four Way Lodge.