The huge Connecticut Hill wildlife management area could soon become eighty-six acres larger.
"Connecticut Hill is a very popular area for outdoor recreation, everything from hunting to snowmobiling, hiking to cross-country skiing, bird-watching, and so on. And it's one of the largest forests we have," said Andy Zepp, executive director for the Finger Lakes Land Trust.
The new plot of land acquired by the Finger Lakes Land Trust would make it easier for the public to access the nature area. And some of Connecticut Hill's next-door neighbors couldn't be happier.
"It's always been a concern that it would end up being sold to make, I don't know, apartments, bring in a Dandy mart. Something that changed the quality and the tenor of the land. Then when we learned the Finger Lakes Land Trust had taken it on, it was as if suddenly, it had given this valley this huge amount of freedom," said Camilla Schade, a resident of the town of Catharine.
This acquisition is an exciting addition to Connecticut Hill, but the whole project is actually part of a larger initiative called the Emerald Necklace Green Belt.
"[It's] an ambitious effort to create a network of conservation lands extending from Finger Lakes National Forest in the west to here in Connecticut Hill in the South," explained Zepp.
The forests in this uninterrupted green corridor will be linked by eighty miles of the Finger Lakes hiking trail.
"These lands all have ecological significance, but also are a tremendous recreational resource, and we're working with a variety of partners to see that as the area grows, we retain this network of open space," added Zepp.
"You've just given us a playground!" said Schade.
It's a playground that will just keep expanding as the Emerald Necklace continues to add links to the chain.