Peterson Easement, Pound Ridge
November, 2002 -- Twenty-eight acres of forested rolling hills, wetlands and wildlife habitat in Pound Ridge have been preserved forever thanks to a generous donation by Sondra Peterson to the Pound Ridge Land Conservancy and Westchester Land Trust.
The agreement to keep the land from being developed is the first joint preservation project completed by the Land Conservancy and the Land Trust, which announced late last year that they would work in partnership to preserve more land in Pound Ridge. The two organizations are working together on as many as a dozen other preservation projects.
"I feel very fortunate not only to have been able to purchase and live on this land but also, with the conservation easement, to be able to protect it from development and preserve it as open space in perpetuity," said Ms. Peterson.
The 28 acres, off Stone Hill Road, lies within the Eastern Westchester Biotic Corridor, a swath of 22,000 acres encompassing parts of Pound Ridge, Lewisboro and North Salem that has been identified by scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society as being particularly rich in high-quality wildlife and wildlife habitat. The Peterson property is also in New York City's Croton Reservoir watershed.
The land's value as habitat -- otters, foxes, turtles, bats and birds can all be found there -- was an important consideration for Ms. Peterson in her decision to preserve the property.
"I wanted to establish a haven for the wildlife in this area and preserve the natural beauty of the landscape," she said.
The Land Trust and the Land Conservancy began to work together last year in hopes of preserving more land in partnership than either would be able to do individually. In addition, the two groups will grant each other backup conservation easements on their land, assuring that each property has an added measure of protection.
"This is exactly the kind of result we were hoping for," said Chris Kuehne, president of the Land Conservancy. "We've preserved of a significant parcel and we've worked out a model of cooperation between the two groups."
Paul Gallay, executive director of Westchester Land Trust, said that by combining the local knowledge of the Land Conservancy with the Land Trust's professional staff, the two groups will help preserve some of Pound Ridge's most important lands.
"We've got significant new easements in the works that never would have become reality had this partnership not been forged," said Gallay, a Pound Ridge resident. "We couldn't be more pleased with the way things have worked out."
The partnership was an important factor in Ms. Peterson's decision to preserve her land.
"It gave me a greater level of comfort knowing that both groups will protect and monitor the land and make sure the easement is fully enforced forever," said Ms. Peterson, who signed the conservation easement on Thursday, November 21.
A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a land owner and a not-for-profit organization like the Land Trust or Land Conservancy to forever limit development on a piece of property for environmental purposes. The land remains in private ownership and stays on the property tax rolls, while the owner is entitled to an income or capital gains tax deduction.
Westchester Land Trust has preserved almost 1,600 acres in 80 locations around Westchester. Pound Ridge Land Conservancy has eight preserves, covering approximately 200 acres.