Almost six acres along the Beaver
Dam River
are being forever preserved as part of the Beaver Dam Sanctuary under a
conservation easement donated to the sanctuary and Westchester Land Trust by Bedford resident William
K. Simpson.
In addition, Simpson has donated an easement to the Bedford Riding Lanes Association, to permanently preserve a 2-mile network of trails on his land. Westchester Land Trust is a backup holder of the trail easement, which the Land Trust helped arrange.
The land along the river encompasses woods and fields, providing habitat for wildlife and protecting a key section of New York City's Croton Reservoir watershed. Hikers and riders can reach it from Beaver Dam Sanctuary. It expands the sanctuary, which is bounded by Jay Street and Beaver Dam Road, to approximately 120 acres.
The new trail easement covers two miles that have been part of BRLA's 180-mile network of equestrian and hiking paths for years. But as with most BRLA trails, riders and walkers were allowed on them by informal agreement. By donating the easement, Simpson guaranteed that the trails will never be closed off.
"We're lucky to have such beautiful land in such a beautiful community," said Simpson, who is known as Kelly. "For years I've been wanting to do what I can to preserve some of that beauty, and working with the BRLA, the Beaver Dam Sanctuary and the Land Trust was an ideal opportunity to do so."
Mackin Pulsifer, who is on the Board of Directors of all three organizations, said Simpson's donation would help the Beaver Dam Sanctuary meet its mission of providing both a home for wildlife and a place for people to hike and ride.
"This will allow people to walk and ride along one of the most beautiful stream corridors in Bedford," Pulsifer said. "It is a very generous donation, and we could not be more grateful to Kelly Simpson."
Simpson's donation has numerous benefits to the community, Land Trust Executive Director Paul Gallay said. He noted that Westchester Land Trust has preserved about 360 acres throughout the Beaver Dam River-Stone Hill River watershed in Bedford and Pound Ridge.
"Protecting water quality and wildlife habitat has always been part of the Land Trust's core mission," Gallay said. "When we can do that and find a way to get the public onto beautiful, unspoiled land, it's a win-win situation.
"Kelly Simpson's donation is in the spirit of dozens of other landowners in Bedford and throughout Westchester who have taken it upon themselves to do the right thing for the environment and their community," Gallay said.
A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a land owner and a not-for-profit organization like the Land Trust 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, which is based in Bedford Hills, has preserved almost 1,600 acres in 60 locations throughout the county.
The trail easement is part of an ongoing commitment by the Land Trust and the BRLA to work together to permanently preserve the BRLA's trail system. The trails are an important part of Bedford's equestrian history, and contribute to the rural character of the town. Preserving trails has the added benefit of preserving the land immediately adjacent to them.
"Parts of the BRLA trail system have been in existence for a century, and one of our primary goals is to make sure they stay open," said Robert Torre, who is on the Board of Directors of the BRLA. "Kelly Simpson's donation is incredibly generous and foresighted, and we hope it becomes a model for other landowners. We are very grateful to him."
Westchester Land Trust owns two preserves that have BRLA trails - Fox-Barry preserve on Cantitoe Street and the Guard Hill Preserve on Guard Hill Road. The Land Trust also holds conservation easements on six other properties with BRLA trails - Coker Farm, Tanrackin Farm, the Crier property on Hook Road, the Jones property on Board Brook Road, the Carollo property on Bedford Center Road, and Beaver Dam Sanctuary itself.
The BRLA has 500 members, approximately one-third of whom are non-riders who use the trails for hiking or cross-country skiing. Information about BRLA memberships is available at Bedfordridinglanes.com or by calling 234-BRLA.