SEMPRONIUS — It’s a land acquisition that the Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT) says will help protect Skaneateles Lake. The FLLT says it has purchased 218 acres adjacent to Bear Swamp State Forest in the town of Sempronius in Cayuga County. The property includes wetlands, upland forests, and 1,755 feet of frontage on Bear Swamp […]
SEMPRONIUS — It’s a land acquisition that the Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT) says will help protect Skaneateles Lake.
The FLLT says it has purchased 218 acres adjacent to Bear Swamp State Forest in the town of Sempronius in Cayuga County.
The property includes wetlands, upland forests, and 1,755 feet of frontage on Bear Swamp Creek, the largest tributary to Skaneateles Lake, the unfiltered drinking-water supply for the City of Syracuse, per the Feb. 18 announcement from Ithaca–based FLLT.
The FLLT says it intends to transfer a portion of the newly acquired property — about 141 acres — to New York State as an addition to Bear Swamp State Forest. The property will connect the eastern portion of the forest with 102 acres that FLLT acquired in 2021. The combined property will also join the state’s land holdings in this area.
The remaining 77 acres are primarily agricultural land and will be conserved using a perpetual conservation easement and sold to a private buyer subject to the terms of the easement. The FLLT says it will use proceeds from the sale to replenish its Opportunity Fund, the organization’s dedicated account created to make “time-sensitive” acquisitions possible.
Protection of these properties will safeguard water quality in Skaneateles Lake, protect wildlife habitat, and provide additional recreational opportunities, the FLLT contends. The land purchase also represents the ninth conservation project in the vicinity of Bear Swamp, which is identified as a priority project within New York State’s Open Space Plan, the FLLT adds.
It is also part of an Audubon-designated Important Bird Area and features “extensive pristine wetlands and rare flora.” Other protected lands in the area include Carpenter Falls State Unique Area and the FLLT’s Bahar Nature Preserve, the organization noted.
Conservation easements are voluntary legal agreements that permanently limit future land use 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, the FLLT said.
About Finger Lakes Land Trust
The FLLT focuses on protecting critical habitat for fish and wildlife, conserving lands that are important for water quality, connecting existing conservation lands, and keeping prime farmland in agriculture. The organization also provides programs to educate local governments, landowners, and residents about conservation and the region’s unique natural resources.
By working cooperatively with landowners and local communities, the Finger Lakes Land Trust says it has protected more than 34,000 acres of the region’s undeveloped lakeshore, rugged gorges, rolling forest, and scenic farmland. The FLLT owns and manages a network of more than 45 nature preserves that are open to the public and holds perpetual conservation easements on 200 properties that remain in private ownership.
