Otsego Land Trust Boosted by Pair of State Conservation Grants

COOPERSTOWN—Two new grants will help Otsego Land Trust conserve more land and enhance climate resilience through the Conservation Partnership Program. The awards, totaling $120,200.oo from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Land Trust Alliance, will protect private land in the Upper Susquehanna Watershed and provide increased support for conservation easement landowners, officials said in a press release issued Monday, June 16. The grants will help to leverage private fundraising.

A transaction grant of $22,200.00 will partially support a conservation easement on 96 acres of forest and farmland in the Town of Davenport, Delaware County. The conservation easement on private land will protect a portion of the south side of the Upper Susquehanna drainage area. The conservation easement held by OLT will protect the land and the watershed for generations to come.

OLT holds conservation easements on 122 privately-owned properties encompassing more than 11,600 acres. A second grant of $98,000.00 will strengthen engagement with private property owners, encouraging better stewardship of fields, forests and waters.

“We are pleased to have the support of DEC and the Land Trust Alliance in advancing local conservation efforts,” said OLT Executive Director Gregory Farmer. “The grants will help us model responsible stewardship and encourage more effective land management.”

To learn more and support the work of OLT, visit otsegolandtrust.org or follow the organization on Facebook.