Community and conservation goals advance together

Long Lake, NY – The Town of Long Lake and The Nature Conservancy’s Adirondack Chapter on March 1, 2012 completed a 46-acre land sale from the Conservancy to the town for $36,720. The transaction consummates a good faith commitment initiated by both parties several years ago.

We are working to keep the Adirondack region protected for nature and for people.

The Tarbell Hill Road tract was originally part of The Nature Conservancy’s 2007 purchase of 161,000 acres touching 27 towns in six counties in the Adirondacks. It is among a selection of “community enhancement” parcels included in a broad conservation plan under way that balances economic development, community sustainability, public recreation opportunities and ecological protections.

Initially Long Lake was interested in the parcel as a potential well site as part of a major water system upgrade. The Conservancy allowed the town to test for groundwater in 2009. Those tests, however, did not find sufficient volumes of groundwater to meet community needs. The town has other potential uses in mind—from gravel excavation to timber harvesting to nature trails.

“We appreciate this opportunity and believe it is a good investment for the town. It keeps our options open. ” Long Lake Supervisor, Clark Seaman, said.

“We listened hard to town officials’ interests and are delighted to have reached another key milestone in this historic conservation project,” said Michael Carr, executive director of the Conservancy’s Adirondack Chapter.

The Tarbell Hill Road parcel has good road access and was subdivided from an adjacent 14,400-acre block of commercial working forest protected by a conservation easement. Both tracts fit into a larger conservation plan that preserves more than 92,000 acres of commercial timberlands, secures snowmobile connector trails in nearly a dozen communities (including Long Lake), calls for 65,000 acres to be transferred in the coming years to the state to become Forest Preserve and available to all for outdoor recreation, and sets aside more than 1,000 acres for community purposes in three rural towns.

The lands in the overall plan collectively feature 16,000 acres of wetlands, 300 lakes and ponds, 90 mountain peaks, 415 miles of rivers and streams, and provide vital habitat for wildlife.

“The conservation plan does more than represent our collective commitment to clean air, clean water and healthy forests for current and future generations,” added Carr. “It meets the needs of loggers, business owners, wildlife, and the tens of thousands of local residents and millions of visitors who use Adirondack forests for recreation.”