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The Columbia Land Conservancy is an environmental nonprofit organization and land trust located in Columbia County, New York, in the greater Hudson Valley. Its aim is to legally protect local open spaces for agricultural, recreational, and conservation purposes and to educate the public about land use.

Public Conservation

The Columbia Land Conservancy has facilitated the protection of, and continues to maintain, a number of notable parks in Columbia County. These include: the Borden’s Pond Conservation Area and Ooms Conservation Area at Sutherland Pond in Chatham, New York, Drowned Lands Swamp Conservation Area and Round Ball Mountain Conservation Area in Ancram, New York, Greenport Conservation Area in Greenport, New York, Hand Hollow Conservation Area in New Lebanon, New York, Harrier Hill Park, with the aid of Scenic Hudson, in Stockport, New York, High Falls Conservation Area in Philmont, New York, Schor Conservation Area in Canaan, New York, and Siegel-Kline Kill Conservation Area in Ghent, New York. The parks are all open year-round and free of charge, and some allow regulated fishing and hunting. ^[1][2]

Farmland Conservation

The Columbia Land Conservancy offers protection for private farmland through land easements. Landowners who legally agree to meet a series of requirements for the environmentally sound use of their farmland can receive money from the organization to subsidize the loss in commercial value of their property. This can be especially appealing to small farmers and landowners who have held farmland for generations and do not want to see it commercialized. The Columbia Land Conservancy had protected 5,800 acres of working farmland as of 2012. ^[3]

The organization also founded a "Farmer Landowner Match Program" in 2008 for farmers to find conserved land to work. In 2013, this program partnered with the Dutchess Land Conservancy of next-door Dutchess County, New York to offer more options over a larger area. Successful matches have included Ardith Mae Farmstead Goat Cheese and Monkshood Nursery of Stuyvesant, New York^[4], Sparrowbush Farm of Hudson, New York^[5], Chaseholm Farm Creamery of Pine Plains, New York, and Great Song Farm of Red Hook, New York^[6], among many others.

Funding

A 2012 study found that the Columbia Land Conservancy had a yearly revenue of just over $2,000,000, receiving 91.4% of its funding from contributions, gifts, and grants, 4.8% in fundraising events, and 3.8% in government grants. More than 80% of this money went directly back into land conservation programming.^[7] According to the "2014 Land Trust Alliance", the Columbia Land Conservancy received $45,000 from the New York State Land Trust Alliance in 2014.^[8] As a nonprofit organization, their efforts rely heavily on donations from both individuals and the government. In an interview with the Associated Press, New York Democratic Senator Cecilia Tkaczyk was quoted as saying, "That’s good for our environment, but it’s also good for our economy, because New York’s history, natural beauty and recreational attractions bring thousands of tourists here each year.”^[9]

References