2008 Annual Report and Summer 2009 Newsletter - Columbia Land ...

CONSERVANCY NEWS | SUMMER/2009
SUMMER/2009 | CONSERVANCY NEWS
F A R M L A N D P R O T E C T I O N
WAYS YOU CAN HELP SUPPORT FARMING IN COLUMBIA COUNTY
• Understand and be tolerant of farm operations
• Support “farm friendly” zoning and local initiatives in your town
• Express your support for increased farmland protection funding to elected officials
• Express your support for a County-wide farmland protection plan or a farmland
protection plan in your town
• Buy food locally at farmers markets, road stands, and farm stands
• Join a CSA (community supported agriculture) farm
• Contribute funds to a farmland protection project
• Contribute funds to CLC to support our work
Please help us raise the required 25% local match for the Shaker View Farm in New Lebanon,
and Chaseholm Farm in Ancram. Your gift can help ensure that these farms will be protected and
available for a future generation of farmers. Send your contributions to CLC at P.O. Box 299,
Chatham, NY 12037, and be sure to note which farm you want your gift to apply to. All donations
towards these PDR projects are fully tax-deductible to the extent provided by law.
What’s New at Our PCA’s
Public Conservation Areas (PCA’s) are properties that
CLC owns or manages for public access. We use them
as outdoor classrooms for our education program, they
are available year-round for hiking and outdoor recreation
and they provide important wildlife habitat. Trail
maps and directions to each of our PCA’s can be found
on our website, www.clctrust.org.
This past winter’s ice storms took a toll on the
forests and woodlands at many of our Public
Conservation Areas. This spring our PCA crew, along
with dozens of volunteers have been busy clearing
brush from the trails and removing potentially dangerous
hanging branches. All of this damaged wood is not
without value, however. The broken snags and standing
tree trunks can provide nesting sites for a variety of
bird species like pileated woodpeckers, barred owls, and
other cavity nesters. The fallen limbs and branches can
be piled up to form cover for small mammals like rabbits,
squirrels and chipmunks. As the debris rots, it
will fertilize the forest floor and provide a damp environment
for salamanders and fungi, creating a richer
variety of woodland species.
P U B L I C L A N D S
The trails at Round Ball Mtn. will formally open in the fall.
CLC is working to protect Shaker View Farm via the NYS Farmland Protection Program.
Volunteers helped CLC clear storm damage.
CLC’s staff are currently working on developing
master plans for the Siegel-Kline Kill and Round Ball
Mountain Conservation Areas with a goal of opening
both of these properties to the public this fall. If you
would like to see more public land in the county,
consider making a gift to our PCA Improvement Fund.
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