The Pride and Joy of Land Protection

Through The Eyes Of A Conservation Easement Landowner

Greg Fetters, a retired CPA, walks his 134-acre property in Essex County’s Town of Jay every day no matter the conditions. He puts microspikes on his boots when it’s icy; clicks into bindings when the snow is deep enough for skiing; wears long sleeves and a hat when the bugs are thick. Along the way, he makes a mental note of trees that have been blown over by wind, felled by beavers, or are showing signs of distress. This prepares him for late fall when he spends nearly every weekend cutting, hauling, and splitting wood that will be used to heat his home in winter. “This process really connects me to the land,” he says.

After seeing fields and forests turned into housing lots in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Wilmington, Delaware as he grew up, Greg knew he didn’t want that for his land. He decided to put his Adirondack property under a conservation easement and now takes comfort on those daily excursions in knowing the forest will remain a forest long after he is gone. The easement restricts development while allowing for forest management. His land is enrolled in New York State’s timber management program called 480a, which helps to reduce his property taxes.

Greg’s eyes light up when he talks about the wildlife he has seen on his jaunts, including black bears, fishers, otters, porcupines, owls, great blue herons, and other critters. The day he saw a moose was unforgettable. “At first, I thought it was somebody’s horse that wandered away but no— it had antlers and it was huge!” he recalls.

As the former chair of the Lake Placid Land Conservancy, Greg played a leading role in facilitating our merger with LPLC to streamline operations and ensure continued open space protection. With the merger complete, we are proud to count his parcel among the 61 properties covering nearly 20,000 acres throughout the Adirondacks where we work with private landowners to conserve important lands and waters.

For information about private land conservation, please contact Megan Stevenson: megan.stevenson@adirondacklandtrust.org or (518) 576-2400 ext. 109.

Like their grandfather Ray, and father, John Fadden, Dave and Donnie Fadden are both artists and storytellers who are playing an important part in maintaining cultural traditions among Mohawk people and building bridges with non-Native communities.

Donnie Fadden, Elizabeth Fadden, and Dave Fadden, of the Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center, and land trust Conservation Program Director Chris Jage.

The center’s new site will allow them to relocate the visitor center and expand educational programming that ties to traditional Haudenosaunee land uses and stewardship practices.

The center’s staff and board are seeking grant funding and private donations to realize their vision for a state-of-the-art facility that incorporates solar, geothermal and other sustainability measures.

Learn more: facebook.com/SixNationsIroquoisCulturalCenter