LOWVILLE, N.Y. (WWTI) – New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos today announced more than $1.35 million in grants to six land trusts to help protect local forests that are key to achieving the state’s objectives to protect open space and reduce the emissions that cause climate change.

This includes a $181, 150 grant that will go to the Tug Hill Land Trust in Lewis County. This will purchase a conservation easement that will protect 375 acres of forest and wetlands within the core of the Tug Hill Plateau forest – an area listed as a priority for protection in the New York State Open Space Plan.

The Campell Conservation Easement property is surrounded by thousands of acres of protected forest owned by The Nature Conservancy, New York State, and Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust. The easement will protect a beech-maple mesic forest, a marsh headwater stream, and a spruce-fir swamp, along with significant wetlands.

In the face of the ever-increasing challenges of climate change, the $1.35 million in land trust grants announced today are helping conserve New York’s forests by sustaining their ability to provide wildlife habitat and forest products, reduce air and water pollution, and contribute to the overall health and wellbeing of local communities.

DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos

The grants, managed by DEC in partnership with the Land Trust Alliance, were made available through the Forest Conservation Easements for Land Trusts (FCELT) Grant Program.