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Casa Farms in Niles.
Advocates are calling the protection of a parcel of land in Cayuga County a win for Skaneateles Lake.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation and the Finger Lakes Land Trust announced this week the permanent protection of 234 acres at Casa Farms in the town of Niles with a conservation easement.
According to a news release, the property features nearly 6,000 feet of frontage on Hooker Brook, which drains directly into Skaneateles Lake, the unfiltered drinking water supply for more than 200,000 people in the city of Syracuse.
The DEC said that conservation easements are voluntary legal agreements that permanently limit future land use in order to protect the land’s conservation value. Lands subject to conservation easements remain in private ownership, on local tax rolls, and available for traditional uses such as farming and hunting. Through the establishment of this conservation easement, a buffer zone of natural vegetation along Hooker Brook was established to prevent potential contaminants from entering the drinking water supply while allowing for continued agricultural use on the rest of the property. Permanently protecting this property through conservation easement is a cost-effective way to protect Syracuse’s drinking water source.
The funding for this project came from a larger FLLT grant for $1.6 million from DEC’s Water Quality Improvement Project Program.
Casa Farms contains a mix of habitats including successional forests, shrublands, agricultural fields, and a hemlock-hardwood swamp. The property is located in the Skaneateles Highlands, a priority focus area of the FLLT that features the Trust’s Bahar, High Vista, and Hinchcliff Family nature preserves. It is also in proximity to Bear Swamp State Forest and Carpenter Falls State Unique Area, owned and managed by DEC.
“Protecting water quality is a top priority for DEC and our land trust partners throughout New York State,” DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said in a statement. “Our continued partnership with the Finger Lakes Land Trust on this and other projects in the region demonstrates our commitment to protecting drinking water sources and open space for residents and visitors in Central New York.”
“This is great news for Skaneateles Lake,” FLLT Executive Director Andy Zepp. “The conservation easement will help protect water quality while providing for traditional agricultural use.”
By working cooperatively with landowners and local communities, FLLT has protected more than 29,000 acres of the region’s undeveloped lakeshore, rugged gorges, rolling forest, and scenic farmland. The FLLT owns and manages a network of more than 45 nature preserves that are open to the public and holds perpetual conservation easements on 171 properties that remain in private ownership. Additional information about the FLLT may be found at the Finger Lakes Land Trust website.
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Casa Farms in Niles.
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