Photo Courtesy of Scott Levine
Land Acquired for State Forest
In the Fall of 2019, the Finger Lakes Land Trust acquired approximately 140 acres of forestland just east of Ithaca, New York. Located on a hilltop between two tributaries of Owego Creek, the property hosts rolling fields, a pond, and a forest of mixed hardwood and assorted pine. Protecting this land safeguards wildlife habitat and improves public access to the adjacent Finger Lakes Trail.
This is the twelfth Finger Lakes Land Trust acquisition around Owego Creek, a stream highly valued for its suitability as habitat for native brook trout. The Finger Lakes Land Trust intends to transfer the property to the State of New York as an addition to Robinson Hollow State Forest. This acquisition will also count as acreage towards the Emerald Necklace, a network of conserved lands aimed at linking 50,000 acres of public land around Ithaca, New York.