CAZENOVIA — On April 29, The Nature Conservancy in New York (TNC NY) named Cazenovia Preservation Foundation (CPF) as one of 12 grant recipients under the 2021 Resilient and Connected Network Grant Program.

CPF is a private, non-profit organization that works to protect the historical, agricultural and natural resources in and around Cazenovia for the benefit of the community and the enjoyment of future generations.

The 12 Resilient and Connected Network Grants will result in the protection of 2,200 acres by partner land trusts.

The program will award nearly $300,000 in flexible grants of $25,000 to help increase the pace and scale of efforts to protect “resilient and connected lands.”

The Nature Conservancy identified such lands using a new mapping tool that provides a roadmap for conserving areas where plants and animals can thrive in a changing climate.

An April 29 press release from the organization explains that warmer temperatures, increased flooding, and other climate threats are altering and destroying habitats, forcing certain species to search for new places to live.

According to the press release, studies have shown that plants and animals are moving 11 miles north and 36 feet higher in elevation each decade in response to the changing climate.

The resilient and connected network mapped by The Nature Conservancy covers 33 percent of the continental U.S. and provides a resource that can be used to bring stakeholders like land trusts, government agencies, private land owners and indigenous communities, together to collaboratively develop conservation plans.

The press release also states that the 12 grant recipients operate within seven “priority linkage areas” that are critical to making connections between core forests within the state borders and beyond.

The Nature Conservancy believes that conserving lands at a continental scale requires both habitat connectivity and institutional connectivity.

To help achieve connectivity, the organization is working with land trust and agency partners to share scientific research and data, and to provide resources and technical support as land protection and funding priorities are developed.

“The most effective conservation comes from collaboration, and this grant program is designed to provide support for a wide range of hard-to-fund needs like stewardship endowments, as well as advance common goals based on the resilient and connected lands science to drive future conservation work,” said Stuart F. Gruskin, The Nature Conservancy in New York’s chief conservation and external affairs officer.

The grants will support land acquisition and planning, capacity, and strategy work within the seven priority linkage areas identified by The Nature Conservancy’s Resilient and Connected Network science.

According to CPF Executive Director Jennifer Wong, the work CPF plans to complete under the grant represents a shift in the organization’s approach to conservation planning.

“[The grant] provides the technology and analytical tools needed to support a more comprehensive approach to identifying important areas for preservation within our service area,” Wong said. “Central New York is an important geographic area for climate-change related species migration, providing a corridor between the upper Allegheny Highlands and large areas of contiguous habitat in the Adirondacks. Our initial review of the Resilient and Connected Network data has already highlighted some areas of importance that have not been a focus of CPF’s conservation efforts in the past.”

According to Wong, CPF applied for a capacity-building grant under the Resilient and Connected Network Grant Program.

The funding will be used to hire a part-time conservation planner with a strong geographic information system (GIS) skillset, and to purchase the computer hardware and software necessary to support the new hire’s work.

“The land conservation aspect of CPF’s mission clearly has implicit environmental benefits, but we haven’t necessarily focused on that in our conversations about what we do,” said Wong. “This work will allow us to more fully engage members of our community in conversations about the important environmental and climate-change mitigation benefits of land conservation.”

To learn more about The Nature Conservancy, visit nature.org/en-us/.

Other CPF news

Recently, the Fairchild Hill Trail Parking Area re-opened to the public.

CPF owns the Fairchild Hill property and maintains its hiking trails. The trail parking area, however, is made available to the public through an agreement with the property owner, Glen Trush.

According to Wong, CPF was in conversations with Trush last fall about making some improvements to the parking area in 2021.

“The extensive clearing of the utility right-of-way near the Fairchild Hill Trail Parking Area in mid-April fast-tracked our planned project and we closed the parking area temporarily to complete the resurfacing,” Wong said. “The upgraded trail parking area is now open and ready for public trail parking. CPF is very appreciative to [Mr.] Trush for all his work at the site and to a dedicated group of volunteers who helped with the project, including CPF Board Director Dave Gerber, who spear-headed the project.”

The public is asked to park in the designated trail parking area only; the main parking lot is reserved for the building tenant.

CPF’s trails and parking areas are open dawn to dusk. Visitors are asked to properly dispose of all garbage and pet waste bags.

“We have seen greater strain on these facilities over the last year or so and our volunteers are reporting higher volumes of trash and pet waste discarded in parking lots and along the trails,” said Wong. “Misuse of these facilities, including littering, overnight or after-hours parking, or disobeying posted parking instructions, may result in temporary or permanent closure of these areas. We hope that everyone will do their part so that we can keep these areas open and in good condition for the enjoyment of all trail users.”

CPF will hold its 2021 Annual Membership Meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 26 via Zoom.

The meeting agenda will include awards and the election of new directors. Visit cazpreservation.org for the agenda and Zoom access information.

The first Saturday in June is National Trails Day. This year, CPF will celebrate with a “Gulch to Gorge Hike” on June 5.

Hikers are invited to complete part of or the entire approximately 8-mile route, which begins at the CPF Burlingame Rd parking area near the Sherman’s Gulch Trail and ends at Chittenango Falls State Park.

CPF will provide refreshment stations at various points along the route for registered participants.

Individuals and families can start any time and hike at their own pace.

Additional information will be provided as the event approaches.

“[This Trail Appreciation Day] is an opportunity to highlight the connectivity of our area trail network through the heart of the village,” said Wong.

To learn more about CPF, visit cazpreservation.org.