The Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT) completed an ambitious reforestation effort to plant 700 native trees on a conserved property in Manchester, Ontario County, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy.

Establishing new trees at this site will create an important buffer between agricultural fields and wetlands on the property. Staff from both organizations participated in the planting, which The Nature Conservancy funded as part of an effort to scale up tree planting across New York State.

Planted tree species include red oak, red maple, black willow, black gum, and American sycamore. The newly created buffer will safeguard water quality by filtering runoff to a stream on the property and also play a critical role in the fight against climate change by sequestering atmospheric carbon.

Photo: Max Heitner

The property is located in a landscape of rolling hills and farmland, located just north of the New York State Thruway. The FLLT received the property as a donation from the estate of Marjorie Morris in February with the understanding that it would be sold subject to a conservation easement that protects its natural resources and limits subdivision. Proceeds from the sale of the property will be used to cover project costs and support future land conservation efforts in the region.

Conservation easements are voluntary legal agreements that permanently limit future land use in order to protect the land’s conservation value. Lands subject to conservation easements remain in private ownership, on local tax rolls, and available for traditional uses such as farming and hunting.