A banner year for land conservation in 2019

Mountainville. Orange County Land Trust acquires 441 acres for permanent protection, including properties in near Greenwood Lake and Mt. Eve in Warwick.

| 04 Dec 2019 | 03:08

A Banner Year for Land Conservation in 2019Mountainville, NY (OCLT):

The Orange County Land Trust is having a banner year for land conservation, having finalized four projects that brought 441 acres of land into permanent protection:

Farmer’s Daughter/Hidden Hollow Dairy Farm

A working 197-acre farm in Otisville was protected through a conservation easement that keeps the land in agriculture and in the hands of a farming family. The easement also keeps the land affordable for future generations of farmers.

McMahon Property

This newly protected 116-acre property is located near Greenwood Lake bordering Sterling Forest State Park. In addition, the property contains forest habitat identified by the NY Natural Heritage Program (NYSDEC) as significant, as well as the headwaters of the Trout Brook, a tributary of the Moodna Creek.

Boritz-Glen Wild Property

Ninty-nine acres of forest within the Neversink River watershed were protected through a conservation easement. The land is comprised of hemlock northern hardwood forest and contains two streams, including a tributary of the Fowlwood Brook. The property is also situated within a "Significant Biodiversity Area," according to the NYSDEC.

Mt. Eve-Warwick

Twenty-nine acres of land adjacent to a 26-acre property that had been previously protected by the Land Trust. The property is located within the Amity Wetlands-Mt. Eve Corridor ,a priority project area cited in the Land Trust’s Strategic Conservation Plan.

The Land Trust’s work in 2019 is far from over, according to Land Trust Communications Manager Jeremy Schneider.

“We are hoping to complete another project by the end of the month," Schneider said in the press release detailing the acquisitions, "and looking forward, 2020 is shaping up to be another busy year.”

Currently, the Land Trust is working with landowners on active conservation projects representing more than 2,000 acres, including lands located within the Towns of Monroe, Blooming Grove, Deerpark,Warwick, Chester, Hamptonburgh, Wallkill and Newburgh.

Orange County Land Trust is a non-profit organization dedicated to conserving Orange County's watersheds, agricultural lands, and natural habitats through conservation agreements with willing landowners.

For more information, visitwww.oclt.org