The Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT) has acquired 101 acres of open space just outside the village of Skaneateles.

The property will be retained and managed by the FLLT in perpetuity as a publicly accessible nature preserve to be known as the Shotwell Brook Conservation Area.

The property was identified as a conservation priority due to its location near the headwaters of Shotwell Brook, a key tributary of Skaneateles Lake. The parcel features more than 1,000 feet of frontage on the brook and more than 1,000 feet of frontage on U.S. Route 20 and is part of the eastern gateway to Skaneateles and the Finger Lakes region.

See the full story on the Finger Lakes Land Trust web site.

ACT NOW

With your help, we can permanently save rare and beautiful places across the Finger Lakes region:

Give Online

Or call (607) 275-9487 to make your gift

Please contact us with any questions about how you can help save more land in the Finger Lakes!

Keuka Lake Bluff Point $100,000 Challenge Match Achieved and Surpassed!

To everyone who gave, thank you for your support. Your gifts are helping the Finger Lakes Land Trust to protect one of the most prominent natural landmarks in the Finger Lakes region!

Visible for miles, Bluff Point occupies the center of the “Y” for which Keuka Lake is well known. Once almost entirely farmed, the slopes of Bluff Point are now blanketed by maturing hardwood forests.

These forests play a vital role in helping to prevent erosion and minimize nutrient runoff into Keuka Lake. Bluff Point’s woodlands also host a diversity of wildlife, including neotropical songbirds–some of which nest in the area, and others that continue on to Canadian forests. The Bluff’s forests also help define the character of this area and contribute to the scenic landscapes that attract numerous visitors to Keuka Lake and its watershed.

See the full story at https://www.fllt.org/keukabluffpoint.

ACT NOW

With your help, we can permanently save rare and beautiful places across the Finger Lakes region:

Give Online

Or call (607) 275-9487 to make your gift

Please contact us with any questions about how you can help save more land in the Finger Lakes!

Bad Bear Hill: Our Biggest Project in 35 Years

The Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT) has announced a huge new conservation success near Corning, New York.

It is the biggest single project in our 35 years of protecting land and water across the region!

Just 10 minutes from downtown Corning, Bad Bear Hill comprises 992 acres of forest and a few small fields. The property also has almost a mile of shoreline on the Canisteo River, now protected to safeguard water quality and habitat. The land lies within a recognized wildlife corridor and is home to black bears and Bald Eagles. It is now conserved for the benefit of people and wildlife. The property boasts miles of trails. The FLLT intends to open Bad Bear Hill to the public for daytime use after first developing an interim management plan for the property.

See the full story at fllt.org/badbear.

ACT NOW

With your help, we can permanently save rare and beautiful places across the Finger Lakes region:

Give Online

Or call (607) 275-9487 to make your gift

Please contact us with any questions about how you can help save more land in the Finger Lakes!

Cayuga Lake’s Bell Station Expands with Addition of Former Golf Course Land

The Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT) has announced a wonderful new conservation success that builds upon the major victory at Bell Station.

In 2021 and 2022, the community rallied to save Bell Station which had once been slated for a lakeside nuclear plant. You can see the original Bell Station movie below:

See the full story at fllt.org/cedarview and see the Bell Station preserve on Go Finger Lakes.

ACT NOW

With your help, we can permanently save rare and beautiful places across the Finger Lakes region:

Give Online

Or call (607) 275-9487 to make your gift

Please contact us with any questions about how you can help save more land in the Finger Lakes!

Largest Conservation Project in the Skaneateles Lake Watershed

The Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT) has protected 690 acres at Jackson-Noel Farms in the town of Spafford, Onondaga County.

With nearly two miles of scenic frontage on State Route 41, this is the largest conservation project ever completed in the Skaneateles Lake watershed.

Owned by Bill Jackson and Jeri Noel Jackson, the property is now protected by three separate conservation easements held by the FLLT. The easements allow for continued agricultural use, require the maintenance of vegetated stream buffers, and conserve more than 200 acres of woodlands on the farm.

Located in an area of increasing development pressure, the property includes a mosaic of fields and forests including steep hillside creeks containing 8,500 feet of streambank. Several creeks on the property flow directly into Skaneateles Lake, the unfiltered drinking water supply for 200,000 people, including the city of Syracuse.

See the full story at fllt.org.

ACT NOW

With your help, we can permanently save rare and beautiful places across the Finger Lakes region:

Give Online

Or call (607) 275-9487 to make your gift

Please contact us with any questions about how you can help save more land in the Finger Lakes!

480 Acres of Lakeside Property, Once Planned for a Nuclear Plant, Now Conserved

The Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT) has acted on an unprecedented chance to protect land and water in the Cayuga Lake watershed north of Ithaca, New York!

The FLLT purchased the spectacular Bell Station site in Lansing that boasts 480 acres of wooded hillsides, extensive fields, and several small streams with cascading waterfalls. The effort has conserved over 3,400 feet of pristine shoreline and create a public recreation area, while an upland portion will be reserved for solar energy production!

The Bell Station property was the largest privately owned parcel of shoreline remaining in the Finger Lakes. It was originally acquired by New York State Electric & Gas for a nuclear power plant that was never built. The land is recognized as a priority project in New York State’s Open Space Plan and is specifically designated as “future public access conservation land” in the Town of Lansing Comprehensive Plan.

See the full story at fllt.org/savebellstation and see the preserve on Go Finger Lakes.

ACT NOW

With your help, we can permanently save rare and beautiful places across the Finger Lakes region:

Give Online

Or call (607) 275-9487 to make your gift

Please contact us with any questions about how you can help save more land in the Finger Lakes!

Finger Lakes Watershed Maps

The Finger Lakes Land Trust has created maps and charts to enhance your understanding of the watersheds in our region: See the page on our web site and find your lake!

Note that maps and charts on the FLLT page may be used for noncommercial purposes provided that they are not altered and are credited to Finger Lakes Land Trust unless otherwise noted.  Higher resolution files are available to members – join FLLT today.  Please contact us with questions.

Protecting Water Quality in the Finger Lakes Region of New York

Toxic algae blooms, or harmful algal blooms (HABs), have become the predominant threat to water quality in the Finger Lakes region.

The 11 Finger Lakes are the lifeblood of our region.  They provide drinking water for one million residents while attracting tourists from around the world.  The lakes have long been known for clean waters, but nutrient-laden runoff – exacerbated by a warming climate – has resulted in declining water quality. The Finger Lakes Land Trust protects water quality by permanently conserving thousands of acres and cooperating with partners to restore natural systems that safeguard our watersheds.

Please see our water quality web pages

Please help us protect our waters!

A Conservation Agenda for the Finger Lakes Region

Bold new report highlights 10 strategies for permanently protecting the priceless lands and waters of our region

The Finger Lakes Land Trust, in consultation with over 40 organizations, has identified 10 strategies for seizing timely opportunities, countering active threats, and securing the lands and waters that sustain agriculture, tourism, and quality of life.  The illustrated report, Lakes, Farms, and Forests Forever, is available free online so you can download digital copies, request free print copies, and see success stories.  Please visit fllt.org/top10 and share with friends who love the Finger Lakes.

The strategies were developed through a review of natural resource inventories and conservation plans, coupled with outreach to public conservation agencies, planning departments, watershed groups, nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, and other stakeholders.

The 10 strategies are grouped into 3 themes:

Protect Our Lakes, Streams, and Drinking Water

• Buffer Our Streams & Create New Wetlands
• Save Our Last Undeveloped Shoreline Now
• Protect the City of Syracuse Drinking Water Supply
• more about this theme

Save Farms, Wineries, and Rural Character

• Save Threatened Farms & Wineries
• Protect Scenic Vistas & Designated Byways on Cayuga and Seneca Lakes
• Maintain Rural Character Through Stronger Land Use Planning
• more about this theme

Keep Nature Wild and Enhance Public Access

• Create the Canandaigua Skyline Trail
• Complete Cayuga Lake’s Emerald Necklace
• Create the Chemung River Greenbelt
• Save the South End of Skaneateles Lake
• more about this theme

What can you do?

If you love the Finger Lakes region, please take a moment to read Lakes, Farms, and Forests Forever.  You can download a digital copy at fllt.org/top10 and request free print copies.  Please share with friends who love our lands and waters, and consider supporting the Finger Lakes Land Trust by becoming a member and getting involved at our events and volunteer opportunities.