The Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT) purchased 26.5 acres of wetlands and upland buffers in the town of Summerhill, Cayuga County. The property contains 3,440 feet along Fall Creek, the source of Cornell University’s drinking water supply and the largest tributary to Cayuga Lake.

Funding for this project came from the New York State Water Quality Improvement Projects (WQIP) program and an anonymous individual donor. The WQIP program funds projects that directly address documented water quality impairments or protect a drinking water source. The property will be left in its natural state and managed by the FLLT as wildlife habitat.

Photo: Matt Champlin

This new acquisition is located in close proximity to public conservation lands including Summerhill State Forest and the FLLT’s Dorothy McIlroy Bird Sanctuary, which is adjacent to Lake Como, the headwaters of Fall Creek. This area supports native brook trout and a portion of it is located within one of New York’s Important Bird Areas.

Fall Creek continues to be a focus area for the FLLT’s water quality protection efforts. Last September, the organization utilized WQIP funds to protect a 260-acre parcel featuring 10,000 feet along the creek in Summerhill, just to the south of the newly protected property.