Westchester Land Trust Receives $30,000 Grant from New York State Conservation Partnership Program Administered by the Land Trust Alliance

On Monday, April 20th, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced $1.8 million in Conservation Partnership Program grants for 55 nonprofit land trusts across the State. Representatives of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), including Commissioner Joe Martens, and the Land Trust Alliance, which administers the grant program, unveiled the grantees at an event at Teatown Lake Reservation in Ossining.

“New York’s natural resources play a vital role in our economy, and today we are taking another step forward in protecting and preserving them for generations to come,” Governor Cuomo said. “With these grants, New York’s Environmental Protection Fund is securing critical funding for environmental and open space programs that will continue to protect our environment, generate jobs and revenue in local communities and ensure a cleaner and healthier New York.”

Westchester Land Trust (WLT) was one of seven Westchester-based conservation organizations to receive a grant. “The Westchester Land Trust applauds the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Commissioner Joe Martens, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, and the Land Trust Alliance for recognizing the importance of investing in the local conservation efforts of land trusts like ours as we work to preserve New York’s natural resources for generations to come,” said Lori J. Ensinger, WLT President.

WLT was awarded a $30,000 to acquire the 35-acre Otter Creek Preserve in the Village of Mamaroneck as part of a transfer from The Nature Conservancy. Otter Creek is the largest privately-owned tidal wetland designated and protected as a nature sanctuary in Westchester County. It was also designated a Geologic Area of Particular Concern by the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation in 1978, and shortly thereafter, the Village of Mamaroneck declared it a Critical Environmental Area. Otter Creek represents WLT’s largest preserve in Southern Westchester, and the most ecologically diverse of its 29 land-holdings throughout Westchester and eastern Putnam Counties.

“The Otter Creek Preserve, with its unique landscape and critical role that it plays in the health of Long Island Sound, is a stunning oasis in the middle of densely populated Southern Westchester,” said Ensinger. “We are honored to take on the responsibility of caring for this natural treasure in perpetuity.” In the coming months, WLT’s staff will update the signage at the preserve, clear the entrances and trail, and remove invasive plant species. It will also outreach to the local community to identify what types of educational programming and scientific studies they would like to see on the Preserve.

The Conservation Partnership Program grants, funded through the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), leverage an additional $1.7 million in private and local funding to support projects to protect farmland, wildlife habitat, water quality, enhance public access for outdoor recreational opportunities, and conserve priority open space areas important for community health, tourism, and regional economic development.

A 2011 study by the Trust for Public Land found that every dollar of investment from New York’s Environmental Protection Fund generates $7 in total economic benefits from tourism, reduced government costs and public health. Additionally, according to the Outdoor Industry Association, outdoor recreation in New York directly supports 305,000 jobs across the state, generating $15 billion in wages and tax revenue annually.

Based in Bedford Hills, NY, WLT is one of the leading conservation organizations working to protect and enhance the natural resources in Westchester and eastern Putnam counties. WLT’s conservation efforts impact the long term health of these communities as well as those neighboring them through the protection of air and water quality, food supply and critical habitats for the more than 9.5 million residents in the surrounding areas. Its efforts also ensure the preservation of scenic viewsheds and the creation of passive recreation opportunities. WLT works together with public and private partners to preserve land in perpetuity through the donation of property, fee acquisition, or use of legal instruments called conservation easements. As a result of WLT’s conservation efforts since its founding in 1988, the organization has protected approximately 7,500 acres including more than 700 acres on 29 preserves. To learn more, visit westchesterlandtrust.org.