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A coalition of 14 partners, including Friends of the Great Swamp, the Putnam County Land Trust, Town of Patterson, Putnam County, the State of New York and a number of other environmental organizations have put together a plan to save the heart of the Great Swamp. The plan resulted in a federal grant and matching contribution of over 3 million dollars.

The Great Swamp is an exceptional 6700 acre wetland system which bridges the Croton River watershed with Harlem Valley’s Swamp River/Ten Mile River watershed system. It has been recognized regionally and nationally, including designations as a New York Important Bird Area, USFWS Significant Habitat in the New York Bight, a Critical Resource Waters under the Federal Clean Water Act, and nominated for National Natural Landmark designation. It is the headwaters of the Croton Watershed, which contributes drinking water to over 9 million people in New York City, Westchester and Putnam. Its proximity to metropolitan population centers of New York City and Danbury, Connecticut, combined with the upgrading of highway and rail corridors into the area are producing extraordinary pressures on the Great Swamp landscape.

The importance of this area and the potential for its rapid decay of are the main factors behind the establishment of a formal Great Swamp Natural Area Reserve (GSNAR). The Reserve is being proposed to provide a broad validation of this under-valued resource. The diversity of the partnership organizations further underscores this areas importance.

As our contribution to the grant, the Putnam County Land Trust was pleased to include two parcels recently acquired by donation from private landowners: the 18.7 acre Mildred Luschinsky parcel and the 5 acre Helen Sprague parcel as part of our partnering to preserve these in perpetuity. We will continue to hold title and manage the property for the shared long-term wildlife management goal of the project. These two parcels are estimated to be worth $62,000. Another significant, 17 acre parcel known as the Elena Hill Preserve could not be included due to the time of acquisition just exceeding the required maximum period of two years. In addition, we will contribute $6,000 for use for title searches; other acquisition costs; or as part of a land purchase for a total contribution of $68,000. The Putnam County Land Trust put forward this match to leverage and compliment other non-Federal, as well as Federal grant dollars to meet the objectives of NAWCA. We are glad to be listed as one of the possible holders of future land acquisitions/easements, as well.

The Putnam County Land Trust has been part of the efforts to preserve open space in Putnam County since 1969 and has historically had a special concern for the Great Swamp. We would like to thank the coalition of Partners for their dedication and enthusiasm in obtaining this most significant achievement. Special thanks to Jim Utter, chairman of FrOGS, and Lauri Wallace, PCLT trustee and FrOGS Board member for their enormous work and skill in writing the Grant proposal.