ALBANY COUNTY — As part of a larger $3 million giveaway, three local conservancy organizations will receive a combined $94,860 from New York state as it attempts to fulfill its goal of preserving 30 percent of state land by the end of the decade.

The Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy will receive $28,385, the Northeastern Cave Conservancy will receive $10,000, and the Huyck Preserve will receive $56,475, according to a state press release. 

A New York State Department of Environmental Conservation document details what each organization will put its money toward. 

The MHLC grant will “provide support for transactional costs associated with the acquisition of 225-acres of land adjacent to Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy's Bozen Kill Preserve, within the larger Bozen Kill Corridor, creating nearly 700 connected acres dedicated to wildlife, water quality and public access.”

Mark King, director of the conservancy, recalled earlier walking those 225 acres with the late Daniel Driscoll, a founder of the conservancy, in 2003. The woman who had inherited the property lived out of state, King said, and did not want to sell.

For 20 years, the conservancy kept track of the land — at one point it was listed for sale at $1 million, well over its appraised value, King said.

His organization, as a public charity, is not allowed to pay more for land than its appraised value, King said. Last year, environmentalists Lauren and Bryan Swift who live on Bond Road and have long enjoyed the land, bought the parcel with their neighbors. The land is valued at “significantly less” than the Swifts and their neighbors paid for it, King said, “so they are making a significant donation.”

“As they say, you can’t take things with you, but you can always leave them in a better state than you found them, so this is our way of doing that,” said Bryan Swift to The Enterprise, explaining why he and his wife took the risk of buying the land along with neighbors, knowing full well they will not get back all of what they paid for it.

The fundraising goal is $550,000, which will cover the conservancy’s purchase price as well as establishing an endowment for long-term needs such as stewardship and clean-up costs, King said.

Communications and outreach coordinator for MHLC, Carrie Stickan, told The Enterprise this week that they expect to make an announcement about the fundraising goal soon. 

The Huyck Preserve grant will “enable the Huyck Preserve to create a permanent, Seasonal Ranger position to serve as an important point of contact with the community, promoting responsible recreation and enhancing understanding and stewardship of Preserve resources.”

Preserve director Anne Rhoads told The Enterprise that the money will cover the first three years of the position, and that the ranger will “spend six months at the Preserve each year.”

She added, “We hope the community will come to an upcoming ‘Meet the Ranger’ event, and help us welcome our new staff person on the trails or at the Visitors’ Center located at 5052 Delaware Turnpike in Rensselaerville.”

The NCC grant, meanwhile, will “enable the Northeastern Cave Conservancy to work with a professional trail crew and volunteers to create safer cave access by removing and replacing deteriorated stairs at the cave entrance” in the town of Knox, according to the DEC.

Conservancy president Leslie Hatfield told The Enterprise that the group will work with the Jolly Rovers volunteer trail crew, who will build a stone retaining wall Knox Cave Access Trail and train conservancy members in stone work and how to build timber-box steps. 

“This grant will not only result in improvements to our Knox Cave Preserve, but the skills attained by our volunteers can then be put to use to improve the visitor experience at our other preserves,” she wrote in an email. “With the addition of this grant money, the NCC will have met our fundraising goal for the project and work will commence this summer on the new trail which will improve accessibility on the preserve and stabilize eroding slopes.”

Hatfield added that interested volunteers can reach out ncc@necaveconservancy.org, and that anyone interested in visiting the Knox Cave can get a permit to do so from the cave manager at knox@necaveconservancy.org.