Schuyler Lake Couple Protects

23 Acres With Otsego Land Trust

SCHUYLER LAKE – The Otsego Land Trust announced today it has partnered with landowners Kathleen and Timothy Peters to protect 23 acres of land along Route 28 in Schuyler Lake.

Herkimer Creek, a main tributary to Canadarago Lake, runs for a substantial distance through the Peters’ property.  The creek, its associated flood plain, and riparian areas are filled with diverse plants and wildlife habitats.

“Herkimer Creek’s connection to Canadarago Lake makes it part of our all important regional watershed system,” said Virginia Kennedy, Land Trust executive director. “From the Creek to the lake to Oaks Creek to the Susquehanna to the Chesapeake Bay, all of our waters here are tied into to the huge Chesapeake Bay Watershed, providing our drinking water and water for millions downstream.  By protecting their section of Herkimer Creek, the Peters have made an important contribution to keeping our water clean.”

The Land Trust also owns land in the Peters’ neighborhood.  Its Blueway is a series of public access lands in proximity to water from Deowongo Island in Canadarago Lake down Oaks Creek to Compton Bridge on the Susquehanna and including Brookwood Point on Otsego Lake.  Blueway lands are meant to focus people’s attention on the connection between conserving land along water and keeping our water clean and healthy.

Ethan Rubenstein, Land Trust land protection project manager, adds, “the Peters’ property is the first private property we have protected in the Canadarago Lake area.  We hope to partner with other landowners in the area like the Peters; people who want to protect agricultural and forestlands and lands with important water sources.”

“The establishment of a conservation easement for our property in Schuyler Lake gives us special satisfaction,” said Tim Peters, “in linking our own origins in Burlington County, New Jersey – originally home to the William Cooper family – to our home in Otsego County, and in joining our property to wider regional efforts to preserve the natural heritage of upstate New York.”

Tim’s wife, Kathy, agrees, “We are lucky to have found some land that retains its natural beauty,” she affirms, “and we are thankful that with the help of Otsego Land Trust, it will be forever protected and preserved for future generations.”

Since 1988, the Land Trust has worked with private landowners to protect almost 10,000 acres throughout Otsego County and in Herkimer, Delaware and Schoharie counties, and expects to reach 10,000 acres this year.

For more information on how to conserve your land,e-mail info@otsegolandtrust.org, visit www.OtsegoLandTrust.org, or call the Land Trust at 547-2366