Conservation Grants Awarded Statewide: Land Trust to Leverage State and Matching Funds for Southern Tier
04/26/2012
Conservation Partnership Program grants totaling $1.4 million were awarded to 53 nonprofit land trusts across the state, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Land Trust Alliance announced in Rochester yesterday. The grants, funded through New York State’s Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), will be matched by a total of $1.2 million in private and local funding.The purpose of the grants is to increase the pace, improve the quality and ensure the permanence of voluntary conservation of private lands, which will result in significant environmental and economic benefits for communities throughout New York.
“Through the hard work of New York’s many land trusts, the Conservation Partnership Program continues its important role in improving quality of life by enabling environmental, social and economic improvement projects in urban, rural and suburban settings,” said DEC Commissioner Joe Martens. “Land conservation benefits New York’s residents, visitors, environment and economy.”
The Finger Lakes Land Trust will receive two grants totaling $40,000. The first grant, for $35,000 over two years, will support the Land Trust’s conservation efforts within the Upper Susquehanna Watershed. Increasing development pressure and the prospect of natural gas development poses immediate pressing threats to forest and aquatic resources in the Upper Susquehanna Watershed. Thanks to the support of the Conservation Partnership Program, the Land Trust will be able to expand its conservation efforts and significantly increase the productivity of our partner relationships as it works to protect the Upper Susquehanna Watershed.
The second grant awarded to the Finger Lakes Land Trust will allow the organization to prepare for national land trust accreditation in the coming year. The Finger Lakes Land Trust is committed to organizational excellence with particular attention to land protection project management, governance, protected lands management, record keeping, and gold-standard outreach and fundraising principles. The grant funds from the Land Trust Alliance’s Capacity and Excellence grant program will be invaluable in helping the Finger Lakes Land Trust develop the systems necessary to achieve accreditation.
“We are grateful for the support of the New York State Conservation Partnership Program which will allow us to expand our land protection efforts in the Southern Tier and further strengthen our organization,” said Andrew Zepp, Executive Director of the Finger Lakes Land Trust
The Conservation Partnership Program grants announced today will help local land trusts around the state sustain and expand community and landowner outreach, land conservation, stewardship and education programs. The grants will advance regional economic development goals, create land trust jobs and strengthen partnerships with local and state governments while advancing locally supported efforts to preserve farmland, municipal watersheds and green infrastructure around the state. Land trusts will also apply grant funds to prepare for national accreditation, supporting New York land trust commitments to rigorous standards for organizational excellence.
About the Land Trust Alliance
The Land Trust Alliance is the national leader of America’s land trust movement, serving 1,700 non-profit land trusts nationwide, including 90 organizations in New York. The Alliance works to accelerate the pace, increase the quality, and ensure the permanence of land conservation in New York and across the country. For information about the Land Trust Alliance and the Conservation Partnership Program, please visit www.landtrustalliance.org or contact Ethan Winter in the Alliance’s Northeast office at (518) 587-0774 (ext. 207) or at ewinter@lta.org.