Westchester Land Trust Takes Ownership of 35-Acre Otter Creek Preserve in Mamaroneck

Westchester Land Trust (WLT) in Bedford Hills announced today the acquisition of the 35-acre Otter Creek Preserve in the Village of Mamaroneck along Taylor’s Lane, off Boston Post Road. WLT acquired the Preserve as part of a transfer from The Nature Conservancy (The Conservancy) completed this month. Otter Creek represents WLT’s largest preserve in Southern Westchester, and the most ecologically diverse of its 29 land-holdings.

The Otter Creek Preserve 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.

The Preserve is located along a three-mile stretch of coastline on the Long Island Sound within which is found 90 percent of the remaining productive salt marshes in Westchester County. The vibrant mix of coastal waters, marsh, wooded wetlands and uplands, vernal pool, and edge habitats, makes the Preserve an important site for migratory birds, marine life, insects, reptiles and amphibians, fish, and mammals.

The Preserve also offers significant passive recreation opportunities as it has a forested upland trail approximately ¾ of a mile in length adjacent to the wetland. There is also a seasonally active Osprey nesting platform, first erected in 1994 by The Conservancy and members of the local community. And, the viewshed afforded from being nestled along the Mamaroneck coastline attracts birdwatchers, wildlife lovers, photographers, botanists and others.

“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 Lori J. Ensinger, WLT’s President. “We are honored to take on the responsibility of caring for this natural treasure in perpetuity.”

The Conservancy’s original acquisition of Otter Creek began as and has remained a true community project. “Early on, its neighbors recognized the ecological importance of this saltwater tidal marsh and freshwater tributary on the Long Island Sound, and it was their foresight and investment in their community’s natural resources that catalyzed the creation of the Otter Creek Preserve in 1973,” said Matt Levy, Conservation Lands Manager, The Nature Conservancy in Eastern New York. Although the vast majority of Long Island Sound’s natural shoreline that historically characterized this portion of lower Westchester has vanished, the Otter Creek Preserve remains, giving visitors a sense of the area’s natural heritage and preserving vital wildlife habitat, ecosystem functions and flood control in a densely populated region. “It is with great confidence and pride that we pass on this legacy of people and nature to its new stewards at the Westchester Land Trust,” said Levy.

WLT received grants recently from The Conservancy, the Westchester Community Foundation and the Land Trust Alliance in support of its acquisition of the Preserve, as well as a number of projects to enhance its natural habitat. 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.

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.

Photos: The Otter Creek Preserve and the Osprey platform at the Otter Creek Preserve