Conservation Partnership Program grants totaling $1.4 million were awarded to 53 nonprofit land trusts across the state, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Land Trust Alliance announced. The grants, funded through New York State’s Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), will be matched by a total of $1.2 million in private and local funding.
The purpose of the grants is to increase the pace, improve the quality and ensure the permanence of voluntary conservation of private lands, which will result in significant environmental and economic benefits for communities throughout New York.
“Through the hard work of New York’s many land trusts, the Conservation Partnership Program continues its important role in improving quality of life by enabling environmental, social and economic improvement projects in urban, rural and suburban settings,” said DEC Commissioner Joe Martens. “Land conservation benefits New York’s residents, visitors, environment and economy.”
The Lake George Land Conservancy (LGLC) will receive a grant totaling $8,300 to hire two interns for the summer. The interns will enable LGLC to partner with the Student Conservation Association and contract with two student interns to assist with preserve management and easement monitoring, and to develop and implement educational programs for children, adults and local families.
“We are honored and so grateful to the Land Trust Alliance and New York State for this much needed grant,” said LGLC Executive Director Nancy Williams. “The Conservation Partnership Program provides critical funds for many land trusts statewide. This grant as well as past Program grants we’ve received enable us to enhance our land protection and outreach programs to an extent that would not otherwise have been possible.”
These Conservation Partnership Program grants will help local land trusts around the state sustain and expand community and landowner outreach, land conservation, stewardship and education programs. The grants will advance regional economic development goals, create land trust jobs and strengthen partnerships with local and state governments while advancing locally supported efforts to preserve farmland, municipal watersheds and green infrastructure around the state. Land trusts will also apply grant funds to prepare for national accreditation, supporting New York land trust commitments to rigorous standards for organizational excellence.
Grant funds are intended to assist land trusts in advancing goals set in the New York State’s Open Space Plan and state wildlife action plan.
The Lake George Land Conservancy is a non-profit land trust dedicated to working with willing landowners and other partners to protect the world-renowned water quality of Lake George and to permanently preserve the natural, scenic, historic and recreational resources of the Lake George region. For information about the Lake George Land Conservancy, please visit www.lglc.org or contact Nancy Williams at 644-9673 or at nwilliams@lglc.org.