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Winter Edition
December 2024
IN THIS EDITION
What's New?
Our New Office at Woodchuck Hill Field & Forest Preserve
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On October 30, 2024, we were thrilled to welcome new and old friends, dedicated volunteers, and members of the Manlius Chamber of Commerce to the grand opening of the Central New York Land Trust’s new office space at Woodchuck Hill Field & Forest Preserve.
The open house was a wonderful opportunity to showcase our permanent home, connect with the community, and celebrate our shared commitment to conservation. Thank you to everyone who joined us for this special occasion – your support and enthusiasm inspire us as we continue our mission to preserve and protect the lands we all cherish. If you couldn’t make it, we invite you to visit us soon and see for yourself how this space will serve as a hub for conservation and community engagement.
Barn Cleanout Update
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This past October, after a number of years sitting idle and vacant, the Woodchuck Hill Field & Forest Preserve Barn was swept, shoveled and cleaned out from past equine use. For some, there’s nostalgia with this barn and its history in Fayetteville along Woodchuck Hill Road. Whether it be the past Fox Hound Hunts during the mid-late 1900’s, or the large dressed up bear that would mysteriously return each year to the meadow wearing a big red scarf around its neck, to horses grazing in the pastures adjacent to the barn, many people “remember when”. CNYLT isn’t too sure yet what will become of the barn but what we do know is that we want it “preserved” and kept intact for years to come; no small feat. Recently, CNYLT had an electrician evaluate and restore power to the barn while also determining and evaluating how best to install and setup a new cast iron agricultural water pump.
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During 2025 CNYLT plans to get quotes to ultimately repair the worn-out roof and eventually the exterior walls followed by much more. The upstairs hayloft we’re told has potential to act as a future square-dance hall but we’re not sold yet . While ideas are plentiful, the funding to get us there is not, which is why CNYLT recently engaged potential funders and historic barn preservation activists. If you too have an idea for this historic barn, want to contribute to the cause or just want to get involved, drop us a line!
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“A horse is a horse of course of course and no one can talk to a horse of course that is of course unless the horse is the famous Mr. Ed!”
Pleasant Progress
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If you are a regular visitor to our Pleasant Valley Nature Preserve you may have seen some new and welcome changes. A generous grant from the Onondaga Lake Natural Resource Trustees – US Fish & Wildlife Service and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation allowed us to dream a little bigger.
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The grant has allowed us to work on the removal of the old maple syrup piping infrastructure, install a new bridge over a tributary of the west branch of Onondaga Creek, plant an 11-acre pollinator meadow on previous conventionally farmed land, and will eventually fund an education program run by The Onondaga Nation in the spring and summer of 2025.
One change that is hard to miss is our new parking lot and pollinator meadow trail. Winter parking was always a struggle at Pleasant Valley Preserve. Mud and a natural spring close to the entrance always created access issues, and more than once each winter season we were called out to extricate a vehicle from the old parking lot.
This Fall J & A Excavation was awarded the contract to create a new parking lot and wheelchair-accessible trail that runs through our pollinator meadow. John and Chad Amidon, a father and son team whose family has resided in Pleasant Valley for over 100 years, set about taking on the task.
Over the subsequent weeks, they transformed the old lot into a wonderful crushed rock surfaced parking area, able to accommodate twelve visitors. The lot also has a dedicated accessible parking space connected to the trailhead. An impressive new roofed kiosk has been placed here and will soon hold interpretive information and a comprehensive trail map for the preserve, created by the well-known local artist and author Bob McNamara.
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The new trail consists of two loops - both returning to the new parking lot. The trails provide easier access for visitors. Both trails are surfaced with fine crushed stone and are at meadow level with no drop offs. Passing areas and multiple benches provide beautiful rest stops encompassing vistas of upland forest, rare cedar swamp and wetlands. All of these additions will give visitor access to nature far easier for visitors with mobility issues or using wheelchairs.
Trail one is a short excursion totaling 950 feet and trail two totals 1900 feet and takes a meandering route across the new pollinator meadow, past newly planted native trees and shrubs that will one day provide shelter to nesting birds and shade to the benches dotted along the route. Halfway along this route will be a future (spring 2025) bird watching blind that will overlook the wetlands. The plan for this structure is to roof it with a thatch of invasive phragmites harvested from the preserve. The structure will accommodate and conceal visitors from the surrounding wetland habitat, whilst providing a panoramic chance to capture those rare wildlife snap shots.
Whether you are a regular patron of Pleasant Valley Preserve or your first visit, we hope you will appreciate the ongoing efforts to combine enhanced public access and safe haven for wildlife.
Come again.
Paul Porter
Director of Stewardship
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2024 Board Awards
Celebrating Outstanding Conservation Champions in 2024
Each year, the Central New York Land Trust proudly honors individuals and groups who have made significant contributions to our mission of protecting and preserving the natural beauty of our region. We are excited to announce the recipients of our 2024 awards:
The 2024 Conservation Excellence Award
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Presented to the Friends of Woodchuck Hill Field & Forest Preserve for their exceptional community contributions to conservation and stewardship.
The 2024 Conservationists of the Year Award
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Awarded to Constance and Fred Hartman of Hart Farms
in Hannibal, NY, recognizing their extraordinary dedication and achievements as conservation heroes, as well as their donation of 170+ acres of land in Hannibal, NY to the Central New York Land Trust.
The 2024 Richard J. Brickwedde Volunteer of the Year Award
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Given to Chuck and Terry Dolittle, whose outstanding leadership and contributions over the past year have made a lasting impact.
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We extend our heartfelt gratitude and congratulations to this year’s awardees for their commitment to preserving
Central New York’s natural treasures!
Ways to Support
Buy a Brick Campaign
As the New Year approaches, we invite you to join the
Central New York Land Trust’s Buy A Brick Campaign.
This fundraiser offers a meaningful way to celebrate loved
ones, honor a team, or showcase your support for
conservation with an engraved brick that will be displayed
forever in the walkway at our Woodchuck Hill Field &
Forest Preserve Office. Your personalized brick will be a
lasting symbol of your dedication to preserving Central
New York’s natural spaces. Proceeds from this campaign
will provide crucial support for our conservation efforts
into 2024.
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How to Participate:
Purchase your customized brick today by visiting
polarengraving.com/cnylandtrust
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Prefer to contribute to our mission in another way? Make
a charitable donation here: cnylandtrust.org/donate
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For questions, contact Devon Dunbar at
ddunbar@cnylandtrust.org or 315-575-8839.
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Thank you for being a part of our mission to preserve and
protect the lands we all cherish.
Join the CNY Land Trust
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Our planet faces growing uncertainties, but together, we can create a brighter future. By becoming a member of the Central New York Land Trust, you support critical efforts to protect land from development, restore habitats, and safeguard our region’s drinking water.
Membership not only amplifies your impact, but also keeps you connected with the latest conservation initiatives in our community. It’s easy to join or renew your membership:
Select your membership level online:
https://www.cnylandtrust.org/membership
Prefer to send a check? Use our convenient
mail-in form!
A Message From Our Director
December Greetings!
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It’s been another year filled with fun and hard work at
the Central New York Land Trust! I have been working as
“the new” Executive Director for just over 28-months
now, and I feel incredibly lucky and inspired to be part of
this amazing organization. I have witnessed this
organization grow so much in such little time. This year
alone we created and hired a new fulltime staff position,
made a move and investment into CNYLT’s own
permanent home office in Fayetteville, and acquired
nearly an additional 900 acres along with CNYLT’s first
‘saved’ property of 150-acres in Madison County thanks
to a generous bequeath. We do a lot with very little
considering CNYLT only has four fulltime staff including
one fulltime land steward to manage CNYLT’s nearly
4,200-acre footprint. One thing eye catching these past
couple of years is our preserve steward friends, the
friends who live adjacent to our more than 55+ preserve
properties who help us steward the land we all care so
deeply about “many hands make light work”.
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Whether it be the Pleasant Valley Friends and a soon to be unveiled interpretive panel “welcome kiosk”, to the Friends of Marie’s Woods who had a vision to get started on redeveloping a piece of CNYLT property for better community access, to our Riverwalk Friends in Brewerton. I could go on and on, Perkins Hill at Little Tuck, our Woodchuck Hill Friends to our environmental partners. And many of our ‘friends’ are not part of any group at all, they simply volunteer on their own to help identify invasive species at Old Fly Marsh, to clearing beaver dams or by helping us log data at one of our Fens in Oswego County; it’s obvious it takes a community to help support the growth of a land trust. Thank you all for being you and for putting forth such great effort and ideas each and every day!
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As we transition from 2024 – 2025 please consider joining us during the morning of Wednesday, January 1, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. for a First Day Hike to ring in the New Year at Pleasant Valley Preserve! Thousands of New Yorkers will take part across the state AND we want to showcase one of our newest premier properties off to you! This fairly level hike will last roughly 45-60 minutes and will initially traverse through CNYLT’s accessible meadow trail while continuing down to the Pleasant
Valley Bridge and beyond (weather permitting).
If interested -space is limited- please RSVP to: ssolomon@cnylandtrust.org
Happy New Year, thank you AND we hope to see you out on the trails!​​​
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Simon M. Solomon
Executive Director
