Land Trust easement protects 64 acres in Dryden

The Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT) recently announced that the organization has permanently protected 64 acres in the town of Dryden through a conservation easement.

A conservation easement, according to FLLT, is a “voluntary legal agreement that permanently limits future land use in order to protect the land’s conservation value. Lands subject to conservation easements remain in private ownership, on local tax rolls and available for traditional uses such as farming and hunting.”

The easement was donated by landowners Susan Compton and John Saylor, who are residents of the town of Dryden. Compton and Saylor have owned the land “for several decades,” said FLLT Executive Director Andrew Zepp.

“This is a wonderful project and gift because of where the land is located,” Zepp said.

He added that the conservation easement for the land is “perpetual.”

“We have the staffing to work with landowners into the future to make sure this land is upheld over time,” Zepp said. “This is whether [Compton and Saylor] sell the land or pass it down to another landowner.”

According to the FLLT, Compton and Saylor’s land is located in a small valley on the southern side of Hammond Hill State Forest. The area is a popular destination for hikers, mountain bikers and cross-country skiers.

Zepp noted with the 64 acres of land being a popular recreation area, the future of the property “affects the character of the surrounding public land that has been used by so many people.”

“We both strongly support the mission of the Finger Lakes Land Trust and are placing our land in a conservation easement for several reasons,” Compton and Saylor noted in a joint statement. “Our property is a visual extension of the Hammond Hill State Forest, is home to two streams that feed the Susquehanna River and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay, is a habitat for a variety of wildlife and plants and contains woodlands that would have been vulnerable to logging. We are grateful the FLLT enables us to protect all of the above for future generations.”

Zepp said Compton and Saylor have assembled their land “through multiple purchases over the years.”

“It started with an initial parcel,” Zepp said. “Then, they added to it over time.”

Compton and Saylor’s property includes “woodlands bordering the state forest, fields maintained for wildlife habitat and the headwaters of the west branch of Owego Creek,” which is dubbed a “high-quality brook trout stream,” according to FLLT.

Compton and Saylor worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to restore creek habitat in 2019 and the Upper Susquehanna Coalition to plant trees over 3.7 acres in 2020.

Zepp noted that the planting along the streams “re-established natural buffers” in the area. He noted that Compton and Saylor also built a culvert, which enhanced passage for the brook trout.

“The trout like the cold and clean water, and [the culvert] provides some shade,” Zepp said. “It allows the fish to swim freely back and forth.”

FLLT mentioned the easement will protect “the property against subdivision and safeguard the restored stream corridor.”

“It improves water quality in Owego Creek and further downstream in the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay Watersheds,” according to a statement from FLLT.

The protection of the land came with some associated costs, according to the FLLT, but costs were covered by the Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grants program and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The grant program covered approximately $20,000 in costs, Zepp said. This covered costs for land surveying, title review, long-term site monitoring and more.

The unspecified EPA funds, which were also administered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, covered survey and legal fees and other expenses.

Dryden Dispatch appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com.

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Dryden Recreation offers Lion Lax Winter Warm-Up program

The Dryden Recreation Department is offering a free program, known as the Lion Lax Winter Warm-up, that will run every Saturday until March.

Dryden Recreation is teaming with the Dryden Scholastic Lacrosse Program to provide eight sessions at the Tompkins Cortland Community College field house at 170 North St. in Dryden from 9 to 10:30 a.m. The dates for each session are as follows: Jan. 29; Feb. 5, 12, 19 and 26; and March 5, 12 and 19.

Dryden varsity boys lacrosse head coach Dominic Barillaro, along with coaches Don Davis, Justin Williams and Erik Eshelman and some alumni from the lacrosse program, will provide group and individual instruction for athletes in grades seven through 12 who would like to participate.

“The goal [of the program] is [to prepare] active players for the upcoming season and to give any interested athletes the opportunity to come and experience Dryden lacrosse in a low-key, fun and supportive environment,” according to a release by Dryden Recreation.

All participants must have their own equipment, including a lacrosse stick, helmet and chest protector.

To register for the sessions, fill out the required waiver form in the Dryden Recreation Department at drydenrec.recdesk.com.