September Partner for Change: Finger Lakes Land Trust

By David Durrett – a current intern at GreenStar Food Co+op, David Durrett is a lifelong resident of Ithaca as well as a graduate of Ithaca College. He is a freelance reporter whose work has also appeared in Tompkins Weekly and The Ithaca Voice, among other publications. 

During his graduate education at Cornell University, Andrew Zepp, the Finger Lakes Land Trust’s current executive director, worked with local volunteers and conservationists to establish the 501(c)3 organization in 1989. Andy then worked in several positions for the Nature Conservancy and other conservation organizations before returning to the Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT) in 2003 to serve as its executive director.

Today, the nonprofit protects over 29,000 acres of land across the 12-county Finger Lakes region and works to ensure the public has access to nature, clean water, scenic vistas, and local foods. Many of the conserved lands are designated as public nature preserves that anyone can visit for free. The FLLT also holds perpetual conservation easements that protect the land’s conservation values while remaining in private ownership, on local tax rolls, and available for traditional uses such as farming and hunting.

In addition to opening nature preserves to the public, the Finger Lakes Land Trust hosts “Talks and Treks”, an outdoor education series on subjects such as tree identification, animal tracking, and nature photography, among a wide-range of topics. Some of those programs are even available online for those who are unable to attend in person.

“I like to think we serve everyone,” Kelly Makosch, senior director, said. “Our nature preserves are completely free, they’re open for everyone to enjoy.”

Kelly said the Finger Lakes Land Trust has conserved a significant amount of land, but that their work is far from over. It can often be difficult for the FLLT to acquire land for conservation purposes, especially since there are rising real estate costs, few undeveloped lakeshore parcels, and increasing development pressure. Securing key parcels in critical conservation areas is a race against time.

“Sometimes, we have projects that come together fairly easily, and then others that take a lot of time and persistence and energy to come together,” Kelly said.

Protecting land, especially near local sources of water, is highly important. Not only to protect drinking water, but if algal blooms consistently contaminate our lakes, they become unsafe for outdoor recreation as well.

“Everyone loves to enjoy our lakes and they are a source of our drinking water. We need to carefully protect the lands around our lakes and streams now,” Kelly said.

The FLLT has about 200 volunteers, many of whom are dubbed “trailblazers,” who help keep hiking trails clear, open new trails, control invasive species, and carry out other duties related to the preserves. Professional scientists volunteer their time to lead “Talks and Treks” events, in which they share expertise with class participants. Volunteer writers help out with newsletters, while volunteer photographers and videographers capture photos and videos of the preserves.

“There’s lots of ways we can involve people in the work we’re doing,” Kelly said. She added that the Finger Lakes Land Trust is always in need of more volunteers, especially since they maintain 54 miles of trails and are especially busy in the summer.

Kelly said the best way to support the organization and its mission is to become a member for just $35 per year.

“We’d love for more people to get involved and for more people to join as members,” Kelly said. “We would love more people to volunteer and get out on our nature preserves to help others understand why conservation is so important.”