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From the President's Desk:

I am often asked, “What can I do to support the Putnam County Land Trust?” In an effort to answer that question I have written down several ways to be involved and to become even more involved. Here is the list I have come up with:

• Your membership donation is the first step. Two new categories, Benefactor and Conservator, were added in the membership notices sent out at the beginning of January, and both of these have been subscribed to. We are happy to announce a new Life Member as well.

If you wish to take your membership a step further, check to see if your company offers a Matching Grant program. This is a way to double the value of each membership.

Upcoming Events:

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Turtle Pond Trail Opens!

The Putnam County Land Trust will officially open its latest trail at the Laurel Ledges Natural Area on Saturday, May 16th at 1 pm. The trail skirts the northern edge of Turtle Pond (formerly Mendel Pond). Acquired through a NAWCA grant from Bill and Sheila Hamilton, the pond serves vital wildlife needs for resting, nesting and food sources.

News on the Trust:

Eleanor Fitchen

NYJN Editorial
April 29, 2009

Without Eleanor Fitchen taking a stand against development, Putnam County's Town of Southeast could have been a very different place today. Instead of saving what's left of its open spaces and historic sites, much of Southeast could have been paved over and cluttered, like any main drag in America, with one chain store after another. Fitchen, who died last week at 96, led many of the town's best-known preservation battles, though always with the grace and dignity befitting a Vassar-educated woman of a certain era.

Land trusts applaud '08 preservation deals

Michael Risinit
The Journal News
January 16, 2009

PATTERSON - At the north end of Farm to Market Road in Patterson and below the hills cradling Ice Pond is a swath of forest and wetlands that beckons waterfowl from miles around.

Updates:

• Lindera Loop Trail Donors
• Wear the Trust!

by Linda Lund

Putnam County Land Trust is pleased to announce that it will sponsor and provide a scholarship to an area youngster between the ages of 12 and 14 to attend a N.Y.S. DEC Summer Camp Programs in 2008. The DEC Summer Camp Program offers participants a truly unique outdoor learning experience. It gives an appreciation of open space and a better understanding of the impact of our actions on the environment.

Putnam County Land Trust is dedicated to preserving and maintaining open spaces and the natural resources within for conservation, education and passive recreation and that is why
giving a youngster the opportunity to attend a program such as the DEC Summer Camp Program is so valuable to us.

The cost for one child to attend a 1 week camp session in 2007 was $250. Please consider donating to the PCLT - NYS DEC Summer Camp Scholarship Fund. PCLT has received a Matching Fund donor pledge up to $3,000, so any amount that you give will be worth so much more. Our goal is to set up an endowment so that PCLT will be able to continue to fund a scholarship each year for an area resident.

Checks should be made out to:

Putnam County
Land Trust with NYS
DEC Summer Camp

Please write Scholarship Fund in the memo.

Full details of the programs offered through DEC, and applications, are available at the N.Y.S. DEC web site at http://www.dec.ny.gov/education/29.html.

Information can also be obtained by calling the DEC at 518-402-8014. Bob and Linda Lund are also available for questions and scholarship information at (845) 279-3122 (Evenings only please.) The application deadline for those who wish to be sponsored by a community group such as PCLT, is February 1st, 2008.

Cobb Road House Update:

Our Mission Statement:
To preserve, for the residents of Putnam County, State of New York, and its environs and for posterity generally natural resources, including water resources, marsh land, swamps, woodland, and open spaces, and the plant and animal life therein, and to preserve sites of historical significance; to further the dedication, holding, and use of said lands in the County of Putnam, State of New York, as open spaces and as conservation and recreation areas; and to further the use for educational purposes and other public purposes of its land; to acquire, by gift, purchase, or otherwise, open space lands in the County of Putnam, State of New York, and to maintain and supervise the use of such lands; to promote the enjoyment of open space by maintaining, enlarging and establishing nature trails and bridle paths open to the public.