The Land Trust acquired 1,000 feet of Chemung River streambank along with six acres of associated floodplain forest in the town of Big Flats.

The parcel, which borders state Route 352 just west of Elmira, is located just downstream of the Land Trust’s Kehoe Nature Preserve and the Nature Conservancy’s Frenchman’s Bluff Preserve.

Photo: FLLT

The property will be permanently protected with a conservation easement held by the Land Trust, and conveyed to the Town of Big Flats. The easement will allow for appropriate public access to the river for kayaking and canoeing.

Conservation easements are legal agreements that limit future development while allowing land to remain in private ownership and on the tax rolls. Landowners who donate conservation easements may be eligible for both state and federal tax benefits.

The parcel joins more than 2,000 acres protected by the Land Trust in the Chemung River watershed including the newly-acquired Kehoe Preserve, the 195-acre Houghton Land Preserve in Corning, the Steege Hill and Plymouth Woods Nature Preserves in Big Flats, and the Parker Nature Preserve in Bath.