Virgil Landowners Donate Perpetual Conservation Easement Protecting 203 Acres to Finger Lakes Land Trust

The Finger Lakes Land Trust has announced the organization has accepted a donation of a perpetual conservation easement which will protect 203 acres in Virgil from landowners, Jim Povero and Sandy Yahner. The trust says the land, now protected by the perpetual conservation easement, consists of open meadows, forest, and agricultural fields leased to local farmers.

The property is located in a divide between two major watersheds in Central New York. The Trust says the western half of the land includes the farmland of the property and is located within the Cayuga Lake watershed, which is part of the Lake Ontario watershed. For the eastern half, a majority is forest and is in the Susquehanna River watershed, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay. 

The Trust says this conservation easement adds to their growing collection of protected lands in the area, including two state forests: Tuller Hill and James Kennedy. The organization added any costs associated with the project have been covered by a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Upper Susquehanna Coalition.

“In addition to the grant funding, the Upper Susquehanna Coalition has partnered with Jim and Sandy on habitat restoration projects, including planting trees and creating vernal pools. These projects are designed to increase wildlife habitat, protect water quality, and enhance migration corridors.”

The Finger Lakes Land Trust said in a release.

According to the Land Trust, a conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement that will permanently limit future land use in order to protect the land’s conservation value. Lands that are subject to conservation easements remain in private ownership, stay on tax rolls, and remain available for traditional uses including farming, forestry, and hunting.