Spring 2008 - Columbia Land Conservancy

CONSERVANCY NEWS/SPRING/SUMMER/2008
SPRING/SUMMER/2008/CONSERVANCY NEWS
C O N S E R VA T I O N E A S E M E N T S
Protecting New Lebanon’s Character,
One Property at a Time
The northeast corner of Columbia County is rich in
cultural and natural history. New Lebanon was home
to one of the largest and most vibrant Shaker communities
throughout the 19th century and the Shaker
name has been given to a 495-acre wetland system
which is home to a variety of rare plants. With all
this local history, Helen Burton and Tod
Houghtlin felt a deep sense of responsibility
when it came to making decisions
for their 181-acre property.
“For Tod and me, placing a conservation
easement on our property
was a way to show the respect we
feel for the landscape around us,”
commented easement donor Helen
Burton. “We are thankful that we
can pass this special place on to
those who follow us."
Located on Canaan Road in New
Lebanon, their property is what many
think of as the classic Columbia County property:
an historic farmhouse with open meadows and
woodlands rising to the ridgeline. The hay fields,
stonewalls, and hedgerows on the property indicate an
agricultural heritage. The steep slopes and woodlands
climbing up the ridgeline provide important wildlife
habitat and drain into the Shaker Swamp, just across
Route 22. The property is also visible from the Mount
Lebanon Shaker Society National Historic Landmark.
“When we accept a conservation easement, it is
important that we can document that by conserving it,
we will be protecting resources with conservation
value and providing a benefit to the public,” noted
Tony Colyer-Pendás, CLC’s Director of Conservation
Programs. “The Burton property clearly warranted protection
because of its visibility from public roads and
Mount Lebanon, and its relationship to the ecological
communities associated with the Shaker Swamp and
surrounding Taconic Ridge.”
The Town of New Lebanon has also
recognized the value of protecting properties
such as the Burton’s. Among the
objectives of its recently adopted comprehensive
plan is to “Preserve scenic
vistas of the area’s natural beauty
including vistas of woodlands, fields,
ridgelines, hillsides, hilltops, and valleys.”
The conservation easement on
this property will help the town achieve
these goals by limiting residential
development to the existing house site and
a second reserved site which is clustered close
by, leaving the majority of the property open.
The easement is part of a “Neighborhood
Conservation Block” that is comprised of five other
protected properties in close proximity totaling
approximately 540 acres. Collectively, these properties
contribute to the protection of the scenic
landscapes that help define New Lebanon’s rural
character, while protecting important wildlife habitat
and local water quality.
Helen Burton and Tod Houghtlin have protected 181 acres in New Lebanon with a conservation easement. The conservation of this property
will help buffer the Mount Lebanon Shaker Society National Historic Landmark and Shaker Swamp from incompatible development.
174-acre Easement in Austerlitz
Protects Ridgeline Along Route 22
The hamlet of Austerlitz lies in a valley carved by the
Green River and flanked by the wooded slopes of the
Taconics. Historically, people settled in the valley,
taking shelter from winter winds, and relied on the rich
bottomland soils to grow their crops. In more recent
times, development has pushed up the ridgelines to
capture the sweeping views afforded by those building
in prominent locations.
A174-acre conservation easement along Route 22 in Austerlitz
will help protect the area’s rural character.
Not all landowners subscribe to this approach to
land development. CLC recently received a 174-acre
easement donation from Jim Murray and Eleanor
Saunders, protecting a highly prominent ridgeline
along Route 22 near Harvey Mountain. The easement
property also contains frontage along the Green River.
“Ridgelines are important, not only scenically, but
also for wildlife. Many species, including bear and bobcats,
use ridges as migration corridors to move around,”
notes CLC’s Marissa Codey.
The proximity of this conservation easement to
Harvey Mountain State Forest and a 542-acre easement
donated to CLC in 2005 helps create a larger block of
conservation land, improving the wildlife habitat value.
“We chose not to reserve any future residential
development on this parcel,” remarked landowner
Eleanor Saunders. “We have another adjacent parcel
where we can build, and felt that conservation was
the best plan for the ridge.”
As with all conservation easements, the property will
remain on the tax rolls. Owners of conserved land may
receive a tax credit from New York State, but it is up
to each assessor to determine the appropriate tax assessment
for parcels subject to a conservation easement.
Chatham Family Conserves Farm
Highland Farm on Highland Road is a Chatham landmark.
Home to the Behrens family since 1946, its
rolling hills and wooded trails have been well known
for generations first as a dairy farm, and more recently
as a sheep and horse farm. The family has now donated
a second conservation easement to CLC as a means
of conserving the core of the property prior to selling
it to new owners.
This 88-acre easement lies across the road from an
86-acre parcel protected with an easement in 2003. The
new easement protects two prominent ridgetop fields,
a DEC regulated wetland, and a tributary to the Stony
Kill, all within a stone’s throw from the Ooms
Conservation Area at Sutherland Pond.
As Director of Conservation Programs, Tony Colyer-
Pendás, explained, “This transaction was quite complicated.
It involved the transfer of the property out of the
family over a period of several years. We worked with
Wini Behrens, her daughter Gail, their advisors, and
the new owners of the property to structure the deal.”
The terms of the easement reflect the agricultural
nature of the property, and are written to give future
farm operators the flexibility they need when it comes
to placing agricultural infrastructure on the landscape.
In keeping with CLC’s view of recognizing Columbia
County as a “working landscape”, the easement will
allow for any type of agriculture, as well as sustainable
timber harvest.
Important agricultural resources are being protected by a second
conservation easement on Highland Farm in Chatham.
“It was not an easy decision to sell the farm, but the
conservation easements give us some peace of mind
that the property’s essential character will remain,”
stated Gail Day.
C O N S E R VA T I O N E A S E M E N T S
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