137 acres in county get funds for protection
able to offer in the past — specifically, cash incentives.
Since 1988 the group has protected roughly 1 percent of the county using easements, making deals with property owners that used tax benefits as incentive.
He said the new incentives would “open up some properties we could not get before.”
He praised County Executive Steve Schuh for getting the program in place, and said he believes it could serve as a model for other jurisdictions.
“Other counties should really look at this program,” he said. “The more tools you have in your toolbox the better.”
Leader said the three parcels being pursued are especially desirable because each is only a mile or two from hundreds of other protected acres, helping establish large areas for conservation and wildlife.
“All of that adds to the value of these plots,” he said.
The Cranberry Woods tract includes a Native American archaeological site and a wetland of special state concern, meaning a wetland classified by the state as deserving special attention because of the presence of rare, threatened or endangered species or a unique habitat, according to a state website.
The Herring Bay Forest tract is composed of 28.2 acres of mixed deciduous forest, as well as 2.8 acres of wetlands. The Palisades Forest tract is also a mixed deciduous forest, with 3.5 acres of forested wetlands.
Large, healthy tracts of forest are good for both air and water quality, Davis said.
The grant program will reopen this October, officials at the bay program said, offering funding to landowners and organizations to protect forested properties, and to reforest properties both protected and unprotected. More information on the program is available at cbtrust.org/forestryand-forested-land-protection. rpacella@capgaznews.com
Since 1988 the group has protected roughly 1 percent of the county using easements, making deals with property owners that used tax benefits as incentive.
He said the new incentives would “open up some properties we could not get before.”
He praised County Executive Steve Schuh for getting the program in place, and said he believes it could serve as a model for other jurisdictions.
“Other counties should really look at this program,” he said. “The more tools you have in your toolbox the better.”
Leader said the three parcels being pursued are especially desirable because each is only a mile or two from hundreds of other protected acres, helping establish large areas for conservation and wildlife.
“All of that adds to the value of these plots,” he said.
The Cranberry Woods tract includes a Native American archaeological site and a wetland of special state concern, meaning a wetland classified by the state as deserving special attention because of the presence of rare, threatened or endangered species or a unique habitat, according to a state website.
The Herring Bay Forest tract is composed of 28.2 acres of mixed deciduous forest, as well as 2.8 acres of wetlands. The Palisades Forest tract is also a mixed deciduous forest, with 3.5 acres of forested wetlands.
Large, healthy tracts of forest are good for both air and water quality, Davis said.
The grant program will reopen this October, officials at the bay program said, offering funding to landowners and organizations to protect forested properties, and to reforest properties both protected and unprotected. More information on the program is available at cbtrust.org/forestryand-forested-land-protection. rpacella@capgaznews.com
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