Environment DEC
From the June 2005 issue
DEC Announces $450,000 in Open Space Grants
From the left, Denise M. Sheehan, DEC Acting Commissioner; Senator Carl Marcellino and Ezra Milchman, Director, Land Trust Alliance Northeast Program, at the grants announcement
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Acting Commissioner Denise M. Sheehan joined state legislators and the Land Trust Alliance (LTA) in announcing $450,000 in grants and technical assistance to conservation organizations across New York State. The funding represents the third round of grants provided by the New York State Conservation Partnership Program (NYSCPP), a pioneering public-private partnership designed to enhance local open space conservation programs across New York State.
Acting Commissioner Sheehan said, "An investment in preserving open space is an investment in protecting the quality of life for the citizens of New York State. Under the Governor's leadership, we are protecting more than 915,000 acres of precious open space and securing a healthy future for New York's natural landscape. By partnering with local land trust organizations, we help ensure that communities can provide residents with green spaces, natural areas, and a healthy environment."
Conservation Partnership Program
The Conservation Partnership Program is funded by the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) and provides strategic grants to individual land trust organizations to enhance conservation programs, complete land protection projects, and build organizational capacity. Funding for the program has grown from $250,000 in tate Fiscal Year 2002-03 to $500,000 in 2005-06. The program is jointly administered by the LTA and the DEC.
Working in partnership with New York land trusts, the Conservation Partnership Program has now invested a total of $1 million in grants, funding for technical assistance, and program support to build stronger land trusts and catalyze both local and regional conservation efforts. Since 2003, the program has funded 87 different grant projects, helping to protect 3,400 acres of land prioritized in New York State's Open Space Plan, enhance strategic protection and stewardship plans and build organizational capacity to support initiatives to preserve farmland, local watersheds and important natural areas.
Grant Details
At the announcement, the Conservation Partnership awarded $400,000 in grants to 29 conservation organizations across the state and $50,000 to the Land Trust Alliance to provide targeted technical assistance to New York land trusts. Projects receiving state grants include strategic stewardship and land conservation plans for local land trusts in Long Island, Orange County, and the Catskills, conservation easement projects in Columbia and Nassau counties and regional-scale open space protection projects along the Battenkill River, the Hudson Highlands and the Eastern Westchester Biotic Corridor.
All Conservation Partnership grants require a match of at least 1:1 in non-state funds. Grant recipients receive technical assistance from Land Trust Alliance staff, which helps ensure the success of their funded projects.
Land Trust Alliance
Founded in 1982 and headquartered in Washington DC, the LTA works directly with more than 1,200 land trusts nationwide, including more than 70 in New York representing 36,000 individual members. Working with state and local governments, local, regional and national land trusts have protected more than 990,000 acres of land in New York State and more than 34 million acres nationwide.
For additional information about the Land Trust Alliance and New York Conservation Partnership Program, please use the link below to visit the LTA's Regional Web Site, or contact the Land Trust Alliance Northeast Program Office in Saratoga Springs, NY at 518-587-0774.
