NEW SCOTLAND – Peter Ten Eyck recently finalized the sale of a 37-acre property to the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy.
The land sold for $18,500, according to records filed with Albany County. "Not what you would call a princely sum of money," said Ten Eyck.

The land was part of Ten Eyck’s Indian Ladder Farms that lies in the town of Guilderland. The remainder of his property is in the town of New Scotland.
"The state, it is my understanding, is going to be the final owner," Ten Eyck told The Enterprise.
The property is adjacent to the Black Creek Marsh area, which is managed by the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation. "It’s a true genuine wetlands," Ten Eyck said.
He described walking on the property a few years ago, and coming upon vast stands of cattails. "There are several different vegetation forms," he said.

Ten Eyck told The Enterprise that the definition of wetlands has changed over the years. He said that wetlands are now defined by the vegetation that is present there, and the land doesn’t actually have to be wet.
"Some of the area that is wetlands was not always wetlands," he said. "Over the years, it has all silted in, and grown over."

The land will eventually be overseen by the DEC and managed the same as the rest of Black Creek Marsh, said Karl Parker, a senior wildlife biologist with the DEC.

The Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy is a not-for-profit organization that was founded in 1992. Since then, the conservancy has helped preserve more than 1,200 acres in the Mohawk and Hudson valleys. The organization focuses on land that protects wildlife habitat, scenic vistas, hiking and biking trails, working farms, and historic areas.

Ten Eyck said the conservancy first came to him about acquiring the land several years ago.

Ten Eyck worked with the conservancy before, when it was known as the Albany County Land Conservancy. In 2001, Indian Ladder Farms sold its development rights for $838,225, to remain farmland forever. The state covered 75 percent of the cost and the rest was raised through the conservancy. That agreement protects 317 acres of Ten Eyck’s farmland from development. Even if the property is sold, it may not be used for development purposes.