Local groups get grants
New York State awards organizations in Saratoga County with funds to aid programs
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. >> Several local groups are among the 58 land trusts throughout New York that have received $1.8 million in Conservation Partnership Program grants.
Money will be used to protect farmland, wildlife habitat and water quality, enhance public access for outdoor recreation, and conserve priority open space areas that are critical for community health, tourism and regional economic development. Grants ranged from $4,700 to $75,000. In Saratoga County, groups receiving funding are Saratoga PLAN (Preserving Land and Nature), Wilton Wildlife Preserve & Park and American Farmland Trust’s state office, based in Saratoga Springs.
The grants, funded through the state Environmental Protection Fund, will leverage an additional $1.5 million in private and local funding to support projects.
A $70,000 grant will allow PLAN to hire its first full-time conservation director. As demand for conservation services continues to grow throughout Saratoga County, the new position will provide needed support for landowner recruitment, farmland protection efforts, including planning and implementation of state-funded purchases of development rights projects, completion of other priority land and conservation easement acquisitions, and oversight of PLAN’s stewardship program.
PLAN also got a $30,000 grant to develop strategic building blocks for conservation. Money will be used to engage volunteers, interns, landown-
ers, community partners and biologists with a focus on land conservation priorities and to complete a business plan for resourcing its conservation initiatives in Saratoga County, the fastest growing county in New York state.
A $20,000 grant to Wilton Wildlife Preserve & Park will support its ongoing community engagement efforts by enabling recruitment of interns to develop maps, brochures and other updated communication materials, including interpretive materials used in the park’s popular environmental education programs.
American Farmland Trust has obtained two separate grants of $20,000 each.
The first, for climate resilience and farmland conservation, will launch Trust efforts to engage farmers, conservation partners and others about opportunities to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions by conserving agricultural lands and protecting soil quality in New York.
The second grant, aimed at bringing younger generations onto farmland, will support a Trust initiative to strengthen a professional statewide support network to advance priority farmland conservation ,and to assist farms in transitioning to the next generation of farmers through a statewide needs assessment, outreach and coaching.
“Through partnerships with local land trusts, the Environmental Protection Fund provides critical support for open space programs across the state,” said Basil Seggos, state Department of Environmental Conservation commissioner. “These grants help local land trusts support our work to protect New York’s peerless waters, lands, and habitats and preserve our state’s natural resources, while leveraging even more resources communities can put to good use protecting these irreplaceable assets.”