PRESERVING A FOREST
Conservation Fund purchase includes local land
TROY, N.Y. » The Conservation Fund recently announced its purchase of 23,053 acres of working forestland in New York, Vermont and Massachusetts for permanent conversation.
The working forestland is known as Cowee Forest and is located in: Rensselaer and Washington counties, New York; Bennington County, Vt.; and Berkshire County, Mass.
According to the Conservation Fund, the acquired lands provide critical connections to existing conserved areas and recreational resources, including access to the Taconic Crest Trail and the Rensselaer Plateau, as well as protection for important wildlife habitat within a short drive from Albany, New York, and Bennington, Vt. The Cowee Forest lands were assembled over generations to support a wood products manufac- turing mill in the Rensselaer Plateau and Taconic regions. The lands were sold to an investment fund ten years ago.
The Conservation Fund saw the importance of making sure that the valuable resources of this large forest, including wood supply to local mills that support nearly 100 forestry-based job, was protected from both subdivision and conversion to non-forest uses.
“This purchase is an investment in the vitality of the Rensselaer Plateau and Taconic Region’s forest economy, which is the largest natural resource-based economic sector in the state of New York,” said Tom Duffus in a news release, Vice President and Northeast Representative for The Conservation Fund. “Our goal is to protect forestland of community- and state-wide importance, and we look forward to working with our public and private partners to implement conservation solutions at Cowee Forest that meet the needs of people, protect wildlife habitat and provide economic benefits.”
Officials from the county are also ecstatic that this forest area will be conserved
and that it will keep jobs within the Rensselaer Plateau and other parts of the forest, the release said.
“This is great news as it protects a vital portion of our Rensselaer Plateau as well as the local jobs sustained by that forest. I commend the Conservation Fund for their support as well as the Plateau Alliance for their continued efforts to protect this local treasure,” stated Deputy County Executive Chris Meyer.
The Conservation Fund purchased the property through its Working Forest Fund, with support from the Richard King Mellon Foundation, allowing time for the creation and implementation of permanent protection strategies with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, communities, and other local partners while preventing fragmentation and development of the land. During its temporary ownership, The Conservation Fund will pay property taxes and will sustainably manage Cowee Forest for timber resources and a variety of conservation benefits, including wildlife habitat protection and public recreational access for hiking, biking, fishing, snowmobiling and crosscountry skiing.
“New York is grateful to The Conservation Fund for working to conserve this magnificent assemblage of forests, wetlands and streams — the reasons why so many New Yorkers and visitors enjoy the Rensselaer Plateau and the Taconic Ridge,” state Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said in a news release. “New York State looks forward to working with The Conservation Fund, the Rensselaer Plateau Alliance, our sister states, municipal governments and other key stakeholders to determine how best to conserve these precious natural areas for future generations.”
Located near the Dickinson Hill Fire Tower, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, the Cowee Forest lands in New York contain a portion of the Albany Road to Massachusetts, a Colonial highway dating to 1753 and the first road that crossed the Plateau and Taconic Mountains. The land will also be managed for improved wildlife habitat for seven species of national importance, like the New England cottontail, and four hawk species listed by the New York State Endangered Species Act — Cooper’s hawk, redshouldered hawk, broadwinged hawk and northern goshawk.
“This project is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we at RPA are so grateful to The Conservation Fund for making it possible,” says Jim Bonesteel, executive director of the Rensselaer Plateau Alliance. “The Conservation Fund has been our longtime partner in implementing the Rensselaer Plateau Regional Conservation Plan goals to conserve the ecological, economic, and recreational resources of the region. This acquisition will conserve significant natural areas including the Poestenkill Headwaters, Stump Pond, Firetower Hill and Turner Mountain, and will support the local economy through continued sustainable forestry and increased outdoor recreation opportunities, while still paying property taxes.”
More than 16,600 acres of Cowee Forest are located in eastern New York, with lands adjacent to the Capital District Wildlife Management Area, Cherry Plain State Park and numerous State Forests — including Taconic Ridge, Berlin, Battenkill and Goose Egg State Forests.
“With the announcement that more than 16,000 acres of land will be protected from development in Rensselaer and Washington Counties, we are seeing the on-the-ground benefits of the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund in New York,” said U. S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in the news release. “I will continue to support federal government’s important role in providing funds to ensure that places like the Cowee Forest are protected for future generations.”
“The Conservation Fund’s acquisition of the 23,000 acre Cowee Forest is wonderful news,” U. S. Sen. Charles Schumer said in the news release. “For decades important conservation programs like Forest Legacy and the Land and Water Conservation Fund have provided important federal funds for conservation projects across New York State. These programs have helped preserve hundreds of acres of public lands, generated billions nationally in economic activity, and created over 300,000 jobs in New York State. The permanent protection of this working forestland will be just another example of the important conservation work these invaluable federal programs help bring about.”