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We did it! New Urban Nature Preserve at Poesten Kill Bends in Troy and Brunswick

Annie Jacobson PoestenKillBends

THANK YOU to the MANY generous community members that took action this summer to help us reach our $99,000 fundraising goal to purchase the 76-acre property along Poesten Kill Creek in Troy and Brunswick. As we approached our September 1 deadline for the property sale closing, we had an unwavering response from passionate supporters who wanted this urban natural area protected. This is a huge victory for land conservation in our area, THANK YOU!

Rensselaer Land Trust and Rensselaer Plateau Alliance are now co-owners of this beautiful riparian and woodland habitat, the largest undeveloped forest block in Troy. This natural oasis is an excellent place to offer educational programs and recreational opportunities to our communities today and in the future.

Poesten Kill Bends is located along the south shore of the Poesten Kill and much of the area is floodplain of this mid-sized river. Protecting natural areas like this property is a climate resiliency* strategy that needs to happen locally and globally. Many southern coastal cities are evacuating this week in the face of Hurricane Dorian's destructive rains and flooding and even more close to home, many communities in the Capital District have been hit hard this past month with significant flooding from heavy rains and high winds. Extreme weather pattern changes are becoming our new normal–protecting natural areas like Poesten Kill Bends from development is a key solution in helping communities and nature adapt to our changing climate.

Thankfully we have the support of our communities to ensure our conservation efforts of today will be relevant in the years to come.

RLT Receives Two New York State Conservation Partnership Program Grants

Rensselaer Land Trust (RLT) is pleased to announce that it has received two NYS Conservation Partnership Program grants. The NYS Conservation Partnership Program is funded by the state’s Environmental Protection Fund and administered by the Land Trust Alliance, in coordination with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

Rensselaer Land Trust will use a $20,000 grant to support the preparation and implementation of a three-year fundraising and outreach plan that will help the land trust become more financially sustainable and better poised to achieve its goals. The grant will also support the hiring of a AmeriCorps/VISTA member who joined RLT in February.

RLT will use a $9,000 grant to support the training and outfitting of the joint Rensselaer Land Trust/Rensselaer Plateau Alliance Trail Crew to work on trail construction and maintenance projects on land trust preserves that are open to the public.

RLT Receives 2018 Watershed WaveMaker Award

HRWA Press Release Toast to Tribs WaveMaker Awards 11 27 18 FINAL On December 4, the Hudson River Watershed Alliance awarded the Rensselaer Land Trust (RLT) with their 2018 Watershed WaveMaker Awards. RLT was selected in the small organization category because of their 31 years in conserving the open spaces, watersheds and natural habitats of Rensselaer County, for the benefit of our communities and future generations. RLT’s recent successes which made them key award recipients include:

RLT completed a county-wide Natural Resource inventory and Conservation Plan, which puts climate resiliency and water quality front and center in the prioritization of future conservation efforts. This conservation plan will lead to the protection of county-wide water resources as its target of preserving 10,000 additional acres by 2030 is achieved.

RLT finalized a Hudson River Access Plan for Rensselaer County, the first county-wide plan to advance the Hudson River Estuary Program’s goal of “getting people to the river." People are motivated to protect places that they love and have access to. This plan provides the blueprint to increase the connection between people and the river in this region.

RLT implemented a citizen scientist water quality monitoring project in local streams and tributaries in Rensselaer County. Riverkeeper’s boat can’t go up Rensselaer County tributaries, but the Rensselaer Land Trust's many volunteers can! Partnering organizations involved on this project included Rensselaer County; the Cities of Troy and Rensselaer; Watershed Assessment Associates; United States Geological Survey; Riverkeeper; River Haggie, and Capital District Regional Planning Commission. In one case, the data collected led to citation and remediation of a sewage leak in the City of Rensselaer.

RLT Awarded TWO “Best Practice” Awards

At its Annual Conference, the New York Upstate Chapter of the American Planning Association recognized a series of projects and one individual in its 2018 Professional Awards Program. The Rensselaer Land Trust won TWO “Best Practice” Awards for the recently completed Hudson River Access Study and County Land Conservation Plan.

These awards recognize outstanding contributions to the field of city, town, and regional planning. The Professional Awards program recognized outstanding submissions in the following areas: comprehensive planning, best practice, implementation, public outreach, distinguished leadership, and Great Places in Upstate New York.

"The Upstate Chapter Awards Program has been a centerpiece of our Annual Conferences for years and once again we were thrilled to present our membership with 12 exemplary examples of recent projects completed by Chapter Members that are bringing about positive change and benefits for residents of Upstate New York."

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Rensselaer Land Trust
415 River St.
Troy, NY 12180
renstrust@renstrust.org
(518) 659-5263

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