Conserving Agricultural Lands and Cultural Landscape History
CPF is thrilled to announce the completion of a project that places 134-acres of agricultural land and a mid-1800’s historical farmstead complex under the protection of a conservation easement.
Message from the Executive Director
I hypothesize that most of us who work in environmental fields or who support conservation can point to a special place, or places, that ignited our curiosity in the natural world, solidified our environmental ethic, and made us fall in love with the land.
Land Trust 101: Renewable Energy
Many people know CPF for the 13.5-miles of public hiking trails that we maintain. Fewer know that CPF has a long history of participating in community comprehensive and land use planning.
Gorge Trail Gateway Project Update
This summer, CPF plans to break ground on a project which will highlight trail and recreational resources in the heart of the Village of Cazenovia.
New CPF Award Presented
CPF has established a new award, the Judy Gianforte Land Stewardship Award, which will be conferred annually to an individual who has made exemplary contributions to conservation land stewardship.
New Board Member
Lisa Lounsbury is CPF’s newest board member. She looks forward to helping preserve and expand the special spaces in Cazenovia for the community to enjoy.
LTA Accreditation Renewal
CPF is excited to share that the Land Trust Alliance (LTA) has renewed our accreditation. The Land Trust Accreditation Commission announced CPF’s accreditation renewal in March 2024.
National Trails Day
CPF is excited to celebrate the dedication of four new trail kiosks. Join us as we recognize the contributions of Rockbridge Investment Management, LLC, Andrew and Lauren Bennett, Knowles Precision Devices, and Chuck and Gyata Stormon to bettering the community’s trail network.
Trail Work Days
On the last Thursday of the month, from April through October, you can join CPF board members, staff, and other volunteers to improve your community trails. This year, we will also be hosting Saturday Volunteer Workdays.
Walks ‘n Talks
Come join in our birding, fishing, and kids’ discovery events. We have something for everyone. All ages and ability levels are welcome.
2023 Preservation Award Winners
Each year, CPF presents several preservation awards to honor building restoration, landscape projects, and individuals that have made a significant contribution to preserving the unique character of the Cazenovia area.
King’s Field Trout Habitat Improvement Project
CPF is happy to announce the completion of a project to improve fish habitat and reduce stream bank erosion alongside Chittenango Creek at CPF’s King’s Field property.
Land Trust 101: A Spotlight on Stewardship
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary (2023) defines stewardship as “the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care.” In the land trust world, this refers to the activities that we undertake on an ongoing basis to physically care for the properties in our portfolio and to uphold the specific conservation values of each individual property for the public good.
Message from the Executive Director
With the last graduation ceremony at Cazenovia College completed, I, like many of you, have been thinking about what will transpire when the college officially closes its doors. The closing of the college and the re-purposing of the campus will have enormous impacts for our community. Many land trusts, especially those with extensive service areas, cannot or do not participate in planning at the community scale. CPF, on the other hand, has a long history of involvement in community-level planning, perhaps resulting from the organization’s early focus on preserving the historic village.
New Conservation Easements in 2022
CPF completed an important project with Russ and Lisa Brownback to place conservation easements on both the 29-acre Meadows Estate on Rippleton Road as well as the 56-acre undeveloped property immediately to the south, recently purchased by the Brownbacks, and currently grazed by the eye-catching herd owned by Albanese Longhorns. This project is uniquely important in that it addresses all three of the major facets of CPF's mission.
Funding Secured for the Gorge Trail Gateway
On December 15, 2022, the Central New York Community Foundation (CNYCF) awarded CPF a $63,745 grant from the Dr. Robert J. Viktus Fund in support of CPF’s Gorge Trail Gateway project to improve trail access and visibility from Albany Street (Route 20) starting at Buyea’s Hardware Store Parking Lot. Earlier in 2022, CPF received a memorial gift from Drew and Lauren Bennett, in honor of their parents, David Bennett and Barbara Settel.
Strategic Land Conservation Plan
In 2021, CPF was awarded funding through The Nature Conservancy of New York’s Resilient and Connected Network (RCN) Planning, Capacity & Strategy Grant Program to update its 2012 Strategic Land Conservation Plan (SLCP) and bring Geographic Information Systems (GIS) capacity in-house. In 2022, CPF hired professional planner and Cazenovia resident, Jennifer Marotto Lutter, to complete the plan. The SLCP is intended to help CPF focus its conservation efforts and understand how best to prioritize property protection to achieve broad conservation goals.
Music in the Meadow
When the property now known as the Burlingame Meadow was listed for sale in 2015, CPF launched a capital campaign, raising most of the funds needed to purchase the property to provide parking and permanent public access to the trails. Most of the purchase was made possible through generous gifts from neighbors and CPF Members and CPF financed the remainder with a small mortgage, which represents CPF’s only debt obligation today.
National Trails Day
Each year, on the first Saturday in June, CPF celebrates National Trails Day. For this year’s event, we are teaming up with Meier’s Creek Brewing Company and focusing on our popular Fairchild and Burlingame Trail Network.
We will offer a variety of guided hikes/walks on the afternoon of Saturday June 3, all starting and finishing at Meier’s Creek Brewing. Options will range from a moderate-paced 5-miler with some steeper terrain and a little bit of off-trail to a mellow stroll up to the top of Fairchild Hill for a look back down at the view (a 0.75 mile round-trip hike at an accommodating pace).