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Rensselaer Land Trust's Statement on the Proposed Kinder-Morgan/Tennessee Gas Northeast Direct Gas Pipeline

Adopted by the Board of Directors March 23, 2015

We know that many Land Trust members have concerns about this pipeline, or want to know more about it, since the latest proposed route of the pipeline crosses Rensselaer County through the Towns of Schodack, Nassau, and Stephentown.

Rensselaer Land Trust is following the progress of this project closely. As the Land Trust's mission is to conserve the open spaces, watersheds, and natural habitats of Rensselaer County, for the benefit of our communities and future generations, we are concerned about potential impacts of the pipeline on wetlands, natural resources, open spaces, and the landscapes that help define the quality of life in Rensselaer County. The Land Trust will be providing information to all parties on these resources along the proposed route that may be impacted by the project.

Rensselaer Land Trust is not an advocacy group. We fulfill our mission mainly by holding conservation easements and owning and managing preserves. Whether the pipeline is built is a public policy issue, and it is beyond our mission to formally oppose or support the pipeline project, and beyond our capacity to take on active advocacy.

If you are interested in learning more about the pipeline, or you have concerns about it, here are some sources of more information on this important Rensselaer County issue:

map of proposed pipeline

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC): www.ferc.gov

StopNY Fracked Gas Pipeline: www.StopNYPipeline.org

Town of Nassau: http://townofnassau.org/content/News/View/70

Rensselaer Land Trust Protects 121 acres

preserve-images

In December, 2014, Rensselaer Land Trust protected 121 more acres. Bob and Jennifer Newton of East Nassau donated 17.2 acres of their land to our Kinderhook Creek Nature Preserve, increasing the size of the preserve by one-third. We also partnered with Jack Alexander and Lyn Howard to place our 14th conservation easement on their 104.57 acres at the Sluyter Preserve in Poestenkill.

Donation from Newtons Expands Kinderhook Creek Nature Preserve
Bob and Jennifer Newton moved to East Nassau over 35 years ago and fell in love with the natural beauty of the area. When they found out about the land donated to Rensselaer Land Trust by David and Lucy Gaskell and by Kenneth York to create the Kinderhook Creek Nature Preserve, they were inspired to donate some of their land for the Preserve as well. The Newtons donated 17.2 acres, bordering the Tsatsawassa Creek and adding over 1,281 feet of shoreline along the Kinderhook Creek, a renowned trout stream.

Rensselaer Land Trust Receives Two Grants

jackinithepulpitsm The Rensselaer Land Trust received grants totaling $37,000 from New York State's Environmental Protection Fund through the Conservation Partnership Program. These awards were announced April 23rd, 2012 by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Land Trust Alliance.

Rensselaer Land Trust will receive $20,000 for its new John B. Staalesen Vanderheyden Preserve in Troy and $17,000 to support efforts to obtain re-accreditation.

Fascinating Talk on Wetland Conservation

By Allan Stern, Rensselaer Land Trust Board Member

On Sunday, March 5^th, a small but very interested group attended a presentation by Laura Heady, of the Hudson River Estuary Program and Cornell University. Held at the East Greenbush Public Library, it was sponsored by Rensselaer Land Trust and the New York State Audubon Society.

The title of the slide presentation and lecture was "Wetland Conservation: What Do We Have to Lose?"

The answer, according to Ms. Heady, is "Lots of things" -- specifically, clean water, flood control, mosquito control, wildlife and bird habitat, and recreation sites with the resulting economic benefits. While Ms. Heady's talked focused on fresh-water wetlands, a whole other topic of conversation could have been tidal (salt water) wetlands, especially in the context of the recent major storms.

After describing different types of wetlands, Ms. Heady focused on the value and function of wetlands (see above) and then how to conserve the wetlands we do have. One of her main points was that because state agencies (NYSDEC) and Federal (US Army Corps of Engineers) have specific guidelines on what size wetlands they can regulate, over half the wetlands in Rensselaer County (56%) and Albany County (61%) are too small and isolated to be protected. This implies that local municipalities and agencies such as the RLT have to step up.

To read detailed notes from this program please click here (PDF).

Resource websites introduced during this program included:

Capital District Audubon Society
Hudson River Estuary Program
New York Natural Heritage Program
NYS DEC's Environmental Resource Mapper
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Wetland Inventory