Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary (2023) defines stewardship as “the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care.” In the land trust world, this refers to the activities that we undertake on an ongoing basis to physically care for the properties in our portfolio and to uphold the specific conservation values of each individual property for the public good.
With the last graduation ceremony at Cazenovia College completed, I, like many of you, have been thinking about what will transpire when the college officially closes its doors. The closing of the college and the re-purposing of the campus will have enormous impacts for our community. Many land trusts, especially those with extensive service areas, cannot or do not participate in planning at the community scale. CPF, on the other hand, has a long history of involvement in community-level planning, perhaps resulting from the organization’s early focus on preserving the historic village.
CPF completed an important project with Russ and Lisa Brownback to place conservation easements on both the 29-acre Meadows Estate on Rippleton Road as well as the 56-acre undeveloped property immediately to the south, recently purchased by the Brownbacks, and currently grazed by the eye-catching herd owned by Albanese Longhorns. This project is uniquely important in that it addresses all three of the major facets of CPF's mission.
We are thrilled to share the exciting news that CPF has purchased 27.5 acres of undeveloped land with 470 feet of road frontage on US Route 20, west of the Village of Cazenovia.
I want to thank you, CPF’s members, sponsors and volunteers, for your support over the last year. As you read through this issue of the Upland Journal, you’ll see that last year was a busy one for CPF. Your support made these accomplishments possible.
A conservation easement is the primary tool available for protecting privately-owned land. It is a voluntary, legal agreement between a property owner and a land trust that limits use of the land in order to protect its conservation value in perpetuity. It allows a landowner to continue to own and use their land, and eventually to sell it or pass it on to their heirs. The document is recorded at the County Clerk’s office and the terms set out in the easement “ride with the land.” When land ownership changes, the conservation restrictions stay in place.
CPF made substantial progress in addressing the mission of the organization and meeting strategic plan goals in 2021 and early 2022.
Each year, on the first Saturday in June, CPF celebrates National Trails Day. This year’s event will take place at the Gorge Trail Gateway, CPF’s Signature Project Site at Buyea’s Hardware Store Parking Lot entrance to the Gorge Trail. The Gorge Trail Gateway will be an important Albany Street access to the Gorge Trail providing the public with a beautiful place to enjoy the sights and sounds of Chittenango Creek right in the center of the village. The project will also improve pedestrian safety, trailside amenities and erosion control.
Upland Journal 2013
