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CLC and Scenic Hudson protect Stuyvesant land
Jan 05, 2012 12:03 am
The Columbia Land Conservancy (CLC) and Scenic Hudson are partnering with the owner of a farm in the Town of Stuyvesant to protect permanently 233 high-quality agricultural acres. The transaction marks another important step forward in CLC’s and Scenic Hudson’s collaboration on conserving farmland in Columbia County. The conserved land includes more than 220 acres of USDA Prime Farmland and Soils of Statewide Significance currently in use by local farmers who grow corn and hay, as well as a circa-1760 farmhouse listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The property, historically known as the Johannis L. Van Alen Farm, is part of a “Neighborhood Conservation Block” that is comprised of 14 other agricultural properties within three miles totaling 2,926 acres of land permanently protected with conservation easements. This includes an adjacent 440-acre farm previously protected by Scenic Hudson and 166 acres of farmland protected by a CLC-Scenic Hudson collaboration earlier this year. “Hudson Valley farms remain incredibly vulnerable to development pressures just as there is a growing need to secure a sustainable ‘foodshed’ for the Hudson Valley and New York City,” said Scenic Hudson President Ned Sullivan. “That’s why protecting them is a priority of Scenic Hudson’s Saving the Land That Matters Most campaign. Thanks to our partnership with the Columbia Land Conservancy and a generous landowner, we’ve ensured that 233 highly productive acres will always be available to provide nutritious food while supporting Stuyvesant’s economy.”