Amid the environmental chaos erupting across the country, a significant gain for New York’s local environment took place on Monday. Ridgewood Reservoir was officially designated as a wetland by the state, granting permanent protected status to the 150-year-old water reserve.

It was a years-long struggle led by community activists and local elected officials. The new status means that any changes to the reservoir site, mostly used as an educational site now, would need to go through additional scrutiny by the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation.

According to Jonathan Turer from NYH2O, there were plans to build a new ball park on the reservoir site just a decade ago. The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation has denied this, but it was enough to compel local environmentalists and advocates to push for the site’s protected designation.