Daniel Zuckerman is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the Land Trust Alliance announced April 24 grants to two local land trusts. Coxsackie-based Greene Land Trust was awarded three grants totaling more than $36,000, Land Trust President Bob Knighton said. The trust will use a portion of the grant to hire its first executive director. The hiring process is underway and the position is expected to be permanent, Knighton said. The balance of the award will be used to help protect the two properties owned by the trust -- a 100-acre farm in New Baltimore and 62-acre wetland near Coxsackie. A $25,000 grant was awarded to Chatham-based Columbia Land Conservancy. The funds will be used to inform property owners about conservation options for forest lands and how to maintain standards for wildlife and habitats. Conservancy Executive Director Peter Paden said some of the focus will be in the Taconic Mountain Range, which runs through the Taconic State Park in Copake Falls. The grant will also focus on attacking invasive plant species and planting native species at the Seagull-Klinekill Conservation Area in Ghent, Paden said. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.