Editorial

Clever Plan Deserves Our Full Support

W e are thrilled to report the exciting and insightful efforts of the Otsego Land Trust to preserve and protect the beautiful but vulnerable 668-acre tract of land on Crumhorn Mountain. The Leatherstocking Council of the Boy Scouts of America has put the defunct Henderson Scout Reservation up for sale and it is in danger of being compromised by development. See the story on page one for further details.

The project is an ideal use of funds from New York’s 2022 Environmental Bond Act, which set aside $4.2 billion for community conservation projects following an overwhelming endorsement by 67 percent of voters. OLT proposes to use the funding to purchase the Crumhorn property, place conservation easements on all parcels, and ultimately resell the conserved land. The plan is brilliant for several reasons. First, the money can become a revolving fund to buy, conserve, and re-sell further parcels of threatened and deserving properties in the future. Second, it provides a significant benefit to the towns of Maryland and Milford, as it will restore most of the property to the tax rolls. Third, if OTL retains the Boy Scout reservation itself, the camp would be open for leasing to area organizations for short- or long-term meetings, camping or cultural uses. BSA Leatherstocking Council itself could benefit from such an arrangement, which would be welcomed by local would-be scouts. For the rest of us, it is a benefit to have 668 acres of stunning natural beauty preserved, to say nothing of potential future conservation of additional lands that will flow from this far-reaching project.

In addition, the conservation of this densely forested land is good for the health of the county and the world at large. While measurements vary, it is accepted that a single acre of forest can annually absorb 4.6 to 40.7 tons of carbon dioxide and produce four tons of oxygen. The capture—even at the lowest estimated rate of absorption—is enough to offset the annual carbon emissions of an average passenger car, meaning that conserving the 668 acres of forest at Crumhorn would be like taking 3,072 cars off the road. The 2,672 tons of oxygen produced annually would make our fresh Otsego air that much fresher.

We heartily applaud Greg Farmer and the Otsego Land Trust for their initiative and wisdom in accessing and brilliantly applying Bond Act funds for this noble purpose. We thankfully applaud State Senators Peter Oberacker and Peter Harckham for their strong and bipartisan support of the project. We further applaud the Hochul administration for advancing the Bond Act and the voters of New York State for their insightful and overwhelming support for the preservation of the beautiful lands we so love.

We hope our readers will join us in letting our elected and appointed officials know of our local support of OLT’s far-sighted effort to conserve this exceptional property, which lies like a comforting and unspoiled blanket across the restful crest of Crumhorn Mountain.

Send letters of support to: The Honorable Basil Seggos, Commissioner, DEC, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233 and The Honorable Erik Kulleseid, Commissioner, OPRHP, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12207.