The Finger Lakes Land Trust accepted the donation of three conservation easements from sisters Yolanda Adrean and Dolores Wheeler protecting 283 acres in Hammondsport, Steuben County. Their scenic properties, located off Winding Stair Rd, contain open fields, steep forested hillsides, unnamed tributaries that flow into Keuka Lake, and host a section of the Finger Lakes Trail system.

Located wholly within the Keuka Lake watershed, the land has been in Yolanda and Dolores’ family since the early 1900s. With a long history of grape growing, it is currently utilized for recreation, hay production, and pasturing cattle. A small portion of the property is also used by the annual Twisted Branch Trail Run, a popular 100-kilometer trail running race.

Photo: Chris Ray

“It was the best place to grow up,” said Yolanda Adrean. “My father said, ‘They’re never going to make more land.’ And that always stuck with me. Our goal was to make sure the land had proper stewardship. It’s such a precious resource and needs to be protected.”

The easements safeguard Keuka Lake’s water quality, expand an existing area of protected lands, maintain wildlife habitat connectivity, and provide a permanent buffer for this section of the Finger Lakes Trail/North Country Trail. Other conservation lands nearby include Mount Washington State Forest, Cold Brook Wildlife Management Area, and Birdseye Hollow State Forest.

Conservation easements are voluntary legal agreements that permanently limit future land use in order to protect the land’s conservation value. Lands subject to conservation easements remain in private ownership, on local tax rolls, and available for traditional uses such as farming and hunting.