The Mohawk-Hudson Land Conservancy has received $104,609 to purchase a conservation easement in Esperance, in Montgomery County, that will protect 102 acres of mostly forested land.
The land is located within a “pinch point” of climate resiliency and wildlife movement that connects the Adirondacks with the Catskills. Locally, the conservancy’s Bozen Kill Preserve is also within that “pinch point.”

The forest contains a wide variety of species, including red pine, mature Eastern hemlock, birch, aspen, and healthy beech trees, according to a release from the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation, announcing the grant.

The land offers breeding habitat for several birds listed as “species of greatest conservation need,” including the American woodcock, American kestrel, eastern meadowlark, and bobolink.

The landowner, the release said, is committed to using the property for environmental education and as a catalyst for additional future forest protection in an area under increasing development pressure.

The grant, along with several others, totalling $1.35 million, is managed by the DEC in partnership with the Land Trust Alliance, made available through the Forest Conservation Easements for Land Trusts Grant Program.    

Funding for this grant program was provided by the State’s Environmental Protection Fund, which is at $400 million in the state’s 2023-24 budget, the highest level of funding in the program's history.

Founded in 1982, the Land Trust Alliance, based in Washington, D.C., is a national land conservation organization representing more than 950-member land trusts and their 6.4 million supporters nationwide. The Alliance is based in Washington, D.C., and operates several regional offices.

— Melissa Hale-Spencer