The Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT) acquired three wooded acres near the south end of Honeoye Lake in the town of Canadice, Ontario County. The property borders the Honeoye Inlet Wildlife Management Area (WMA) and Muller Field Station, an educational facility owned and managed by Finger Lakes Community College.

The property was acquired at the request of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) as a future addition to the WMA. Protection of this parcel enhances public access, prevents development, and adds to a growing network of conservation lands that encompass more than 5,000 acres of woodlands, fields, and wetlands.

Other conserved lands in this area include the Harriet Hollister Spencer Recreation Area, the Cumming Nature Center, and the FLLT’s Wesley Hill Nature Preserve.  Black bear and bobcat roam these woods and the high ridgelines provide a scenic backdrop to wetlands that host Wood Ducks, herons, and the occasional river otter.

The purchase was made possible by the FLLT’s Opportunity Fund—an internal revolving loan fund that is utilized for time-sensitive acquisitions and then replenished either through fundraising or the sale of land to a public conservation agency.

This will be the FLLT’s fourth addition to the Honeoye Inlet Wildlife Management Area. In 2022, the organization transferred three parcels totaling 57 acres at the south end of the lake to the state as additions to the WMA.