Community Assistance News

Trail Improvements at Borden’s Pond

April 6, 2013 | Posted in Headline, Trails | Keywords: , ,
Adam Day leads a team to improve bridging

Adam Day, a member of Boy Scout Troop 2114 in Valatie, is working with the Columbia Land Conservancy (CLC) on a community service project to earn his Eagle Scout award. Day, a Stockport resident, is leading a volunteer project to replace several sections of bog bridging at CLC’s Borden’s Pond Conservation Area.

The bridging will traverse several small streams and seasonally muddy areas. Walking distance from the Village of Chatham, the Public Conservation Area’s two miles of trails and diverse wildlife is popular among area residents and visitors.
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CLC’S GIS Map Reading Participants Make Impact

January 28, 2013 | Posted in CLC, Community Assistance, Headline | Keywords:

When applicants approach the Ancram Planning Board with a project, Clerk Colleen Lutz prepares the Board with maps that show the site’s topography, soils, wetlands and other natural features. The maps help identify important natural resources such as wetlands and prime agricultural soils, and show the parcel in relation to the land around it. This information helps the municipality ask the right questions and make informed conservation and land use decisions early in the review process, which is also more efficient and cost-effective for the applicant. CONTINUE READING

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Round Ball Mountain Expansion

January 11, 2013 | Posted in Headline, Trails | Keywords: ,
Mountain

Outdoor enthusiasts will soon have a new place to visit – the expanded Round Ball Mountain Conservation Area.The Columbia Land Conservancy owns and manages the Public Conservation Area and is adding 310 acres as well as a significant trail extension to the site.

Site improvements and trail construction will get underway this year. The expanded portion will include a trail that will lead from the woods of the existing conservation area, across a ravine before climbing along a ridge known locally as “Fox Hill”, providing expansive views of the surrounding mountains and valley. CONTINUE READING

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Farm Protection Plan

January 4, 2013 | Posted in Community Assistance, Non CLC Event, Working Farms
Old Sheep Herding Company

CLC has been working with the County Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board and the Hudson Valley Agribusiness Development Corporation to craft a plan to support and promote local agriculture. Three public meetings are now underway to present and discuss the Draft Plan prior to it being considered for adoption by the County Board of Supervisors. A public hearing will also be scheduled at that time. CONTINUE READING

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Roundtables Support Local Leaders

December 4, 2012 | Posted in Community Assistance, Headline | Keywords:

planningCLC has organized two ongoing “roundtables” to support local leaders in conservation and community land use efforts. The roundtables bring together leaders at the town level from across Columbia County to learn from each other and share resources.

One roundtable is for members of Conservation Advisory Councils (CAC), which can be appointed by town boards to advise local agencies, especially “time-strapped” planning boards, on issues related to conservation and natural resources. The most recent CAC Roundtable featured guest speakers from Hyde Park. CLC has developed a brochure about Conservation Advisory Councils that towns can use to inform their boards and local citizens about the advantages of having a CAC.

The Trails Roundtable builds off the success of the first Columbia County Trails Conference, organized by CLC in 2011. Advocates gather to discuss how to take advantage of the area’s abundance of abandoned railroad corridors, utility rights-of-way, and other linkages that could add up to a world-class countywide trail network. The next Trails Roundtable will be held in 2013 and will feature a guest speaker. Check back for additional information.

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Progress for Harlem Valley Rail Trail Extension

November 27, 2012 | Posted in Community Assistance, Headline, Trails
high bike

CLC has been coordinating planning and design for an approximately 5-mile extension of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail in Columbia County from Copake Falls to Hillsdale.

In support of this effort, CLC received a planning and design grant from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation for $121,965. The grant required a $40,655 matching contribution that was provided by a new community partnership, the Copake Hillsdale Rail Trail Alliance, with leadership also from the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Alliance. Construction documents for a full build-out of this trail segment are close to completion. In the meantime, two sections of the trail will be opened to the public on an informal basis in the coming months.

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New trail in Kinderhook

November 21, 2012 | Posted in Community Assistance, Headline, Trails
Roxbury Farm - photo by Andreas Stresemann
Kinderhook Trail offers sights of Roxbury Farm – photo by Andreas Stresemann

The opening of the first leg of a new Kinderhook trail system was recently celebrated. The trail joins four centuries of Dutch farming by linking the Luykas Van Alen house with the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site, by way of present day Roxbury Farm. For the last four years, CLC has provided technical assistance for the project, including lending assistance from the National Park Service through the Rivers and Trails Program. The Kinderhook Dutch Farming Heritage Trail can be reached from trailheads at both the Luykas Van Alen House and at “Lindenwald,” the Martin Van Buren home.

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