Land trust purchases 23 acres in Ulysses from nature center

The Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT) announced Nov. 14 that it had purchased 23 acres in the Cayuga Nature Center in the town of Ulysses for preservation and development.

The property, a mix of meadows and woodlands, is located along the Black Diamond trail at the Houghton Road crossing. It acts as a buffer to the Black Diamond trail, an 8.4-mile multiuse trail network currently connecting Taughannock Falls State Park in the village of Trumansburg and Cass Park in the city of Ithaca. 

The FLLT’s plan, ultimately, is to transfer the parcel to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (OPRHP), which owns and manages the Black Diamond trail. OPRHP’s plan, according to a press release from the FLLT, is to create a midway access point on the property that includes several amenities, such as parking, restroom facilities and a water fountain. 

The FLLT has made partnering with the OPRHP a priority to continue adding state lands and parks to its portfolio, further enhancing the Black Diamond trail. Some of the more recent joint plans between the organizations include the transfer by the FLLT to the OPRHP of a 12-acre parcel in Ulysses that is now a natural buffer between the trail and the Cayuga Lake Scenic Byway on New York State Route 89. This development occurred in 2020.

“Again, the Finger Lakes Land Trust has stepped up to support State Parks,” Finger Lakes State Parks Regional Director Fred Bonn said in a press release. “In this instance, their efforts will enable us to address a critical need for the Black Diamond Trail, namely a mid-point parking lot and bathroom facility like the one currently being constructed at Taughannock Falls. Parks looks forward to acquiring this parcel from the FLLT and then moving into design and construction in the next few years.”

FLLT President Andrew Zepp called the potential addition to Black Diamond Trail “terrific.”

“With each passing year, more and more people are getting out to enjoy this multi-use trail. We’re delighted to have the opportunity to work with our partners at State Parks to continue to enhance this outstanding resource,” he said in a press release.

The Black Diamond trail is part of the old rail line that was once a flagship passenger line of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The line was known as the Black Diamond Express, and it ran from New York to Buffalo from 1896 until 1959, according to the FLLT’s website. 

Recreationists can expect to experience a range of natural landscapes, from a towering canopy of mature maple, hemlock, oak and hickory, to views of pastoral agricultural lands and dozens of ravines with the sounds of cascading water features near Cayuga Lake.

The FLLT website notes that the trail makes for a great family-oriented walking, biking or even cross-country skiing opportunity from the city limits of Ithaca to the 215-foot waterfall, Taughannock Falls.

The FLLT has a trajectory of working cooperatively with landowners and local communities along the Finger Lakes, enhancing natural resources and contributing to larger preservation efforts. So far, the FLLT has protected over 33,000 acres of the region’s undeveloped lakeshore, rugged gorges, rolling forests and scenic farmland. The FLLT owns and manages a network of more than 45 nature preserves that are open to the public, and it holds perpetual conservation easements on 200 properties that remain in private ownership, FLLT officials said in a press release.

The FLLT focuses on protecting critical habitat for fish and wildlife, conserving lands that are important for water quality, connecting existing conservation lands and keeping prime farmland in agriculture, the press release states. The organization also provides programs to educate local governments, landowners and residents about conservation and the region’s unique natural resources.

More information on recommended destinations for outdoor recreation, including the Black Diamond trail, can be found at www.gofingerlakes.org, a resource created by the FLLT to encourage people to get outdoors. Additional information about the Finger Lakes Land Trust can also be found at www.fllt.org.

Ulysses Connection appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com.

In brief:

The Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts is ringing in the new year in style. The TCFA will host a “gong bath” experience with gong expert Caryn Sheckler on Jan. 1 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. 

Tickets are $15 if purchased before the show and $20 at the door. No location has been announced at this time. This gong and gong bath workshop will include celestial communications, a style of seated movement that helps bring on a state of relaxation, according to the TCFA website. 

For more information, contact TCFA Managing Director Dona Roman at 607-387-5939 or droman@tburgconservatory.org.