WNY Land Conservancy looking for owners to donate property

Rob Creenan, Niagara Gazette, Niagara Falls, N.Y.
·2 min read

May 9—The Western New York Land Conservancy is looking for landowners along the Niagara Escarpment and Lower Niagara River who want their undeveloped property to be permanently protected.

Land Protection Director Sarah Costlow said the group is mainly interested in forested areas, wetlands, meadows and fields — preferably 25 acres or larger. For properties closer to the Niagara River, a connection to water would be considered a strength.

"We are looking for properties that provide good habitat and ecological value," Costlow explained.

The program has the support of the Greenway Ecological Standing Committee and Niagara River Greenway Commission, with the standing committee recently granting $114,000 to the project.

The land conservancy started reaching out to landowners at the start of 2022, hoping to get enough funding to continue the program through June 2025.

As far as animal habitats go, the escarpment makes for a good home to mammals, amphibians and bats while the Lower Niagara is a good region for migratory birds.

The most recent project to go through the process was the former Camp Stonehaven in Lewiston, which the town acquired and worked with the Land Conservancy to turn it into a 67-acre nature preserve in 2023. So far, the Land Conservancy has evaluated at least five potential properties, with the acquisition of one property along the Lower Niagara possibly starting in a few months.

If a landowner sells their property to the conservancy, it will be maintained as a land preserve that is open to the public. The other option for landowners is to get a conservation easement, where they still own the property and are responsible for maintaining it. The conservancy purchases development rights from the owner and inspects the property once a year to see if the easement terms are still being met.

Other preserves in Niagara County the Land Conservancy works with are the Stella Niagara Preserve in Lewiston and the Niagara Escarpment and Lytle preserves in Lockport. They also operate preserves on Grand Island.

Landowners interested in these can contact Castlow at 716-687-1225. ext. 119 or by email at scostlow@wnylc.org.