The Rensselaer Land Trust is pleased to announce the acquisition of the Palmer Road Preserve in Schodack, New York from the Schodack Area Land Trust. The 57-acre property was transferred to Rensselaer Land Trust upon the voluntary dissolution of the Schodack Area Land Trust.

Located in a residential community near Miller Road in Schodack, the property features an extensive walking trail system that the Schodack Area Land Trust maintained over many years. The wooded parcel is one of the sources of the Mordener Kill and is home to a diverse collection of plants and animals.

The Palmer Road Preserve will add to RLT’s growing network of neighborhood nature preserves in Rensselaer County. RLT’s goal is to create a diverse collection of publicly accessible properties within a ten-minute drive of everyone in a municipality. These properties will complement existing parks and protected areas and provide places for local residents and visitors to enjoy nature and hopefully inspire them to protect it.

“We are very excited about receiving the Palmer Road Preserve from the Schodack Area Land Trust and continuing to make it available to the community,” says RLT Board President Bob Crowley. “We wish to thank SALT for entrusting us with their legacy. We are honored to be the next steward of this special place.”

Christopher Desany, President of the Board of the Schodack Area Land Trust, spoke about the changes to the Palmer Road Preserve and SALT. “While this chapter of the story of the Palmer Preserve and of SALT has come to a close we are so pleased that our friends at Rensselaer Land Trust have chosen to carry on what we started almost twenty years ago. We look forward to working with RLT on the transition to new ownership of the preserve and beginning the next chapter.”

RLT expects to complete the transition by the end of the year and will make the Preserve available to the local community for walking and nature appreciation in 2021.