FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 30, 2021
Rhinebeck, NY – Winnakee Land Trust is pleased to announce its adoption of a multi-year strategic plan, and receipt of a $30,000 Capacity & Excellence Grant from the NYS Conservation Partnership Program, funded by the NYS Environmental Protection Fund, to implement aspects of the plan.
The strategic plan, facilitated by Board member David Ping of the David Ping Group, reflects Winnakee’s broadened conservation mission, which calls for the protection and restoration of local forested lands as an indispensable investment in our future. The multi-year plan also provides resources and necessary infrastructure to support recently announced land preservation projects, along with the roll-out of new conservation initiatives.
“As Winnakee seeks to heighten its impact on our region’s long-term environmental resilience, this plan affirms our commitment to becoming a stronger regional resource for landowners and the community, said Board president Carl E. Meyer. “Increasing protection and restoration of disappearing forests, threatened natural habitats, vulnerable watersheds and productive farmlands, will lead to cleaner air and drinking water and help mitigate shifting climate patterns.”
Other key items of the plan include Winnakee’s commitment to helping people of all ages connect with our natural environment through more frequent environmental programming, new and upgraded trail systems to encourage people to get out and enjoy the land, and enhanced communications that bridge land conservation and public benefits.
The Capacity & Excellence Grant Winnakee received will fund a new web site, landowner engagement campaigns and new brochures, helping the community connect to trails and resources and emphasizing the strong and positive impact saving land and forests will have on local environmental health. Winnakee is grateful to the NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation and the Land Trust Alliance, who administers the Conservation Partnership Program, as well as Governor Cuomo and other elected officials who make these funds available for investment in our region’s land conservation and open spaces.
"Over the last year, New Yorkers young and old have been exploring the outdoors in record numbers," said New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos. "Land trusts across the state help to preserve and manage some of the special, natural places that the public has come to love. We commend the Land Trust Alliance for administering this important program."
“Winnakee is firmly dedicated to the natural places that matter most for families, their well-being, and for healthy communities,” said Winnakee’s Executive Director Bob Davis. “In ten years, our added focus on protecting irreplaceable local forests, and restoration of the natural ecosystems in the lands Winnakee protects, will have a transformative impact on the direction of our region’s environmental health. We look forward to greater engagement with the public as we progress on these enhanced conservation goals. Winnakee also wishes to thank our NYS elected officials and Winnakee’s partners at the NYS DEC and the Land Trust Alliance for helping to fund these initiatives.”
Photo: Winnakee Executive, Bob Davis, overlooking the marsh at Winnakee's newest protected wetland and forest property at Vlei Marsh.
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