Janet Gallogly Allegany Wildlands

The Western New York Land Conservancy has announced that it has officially purchased a 185-acre forest in Cattaraugus County.

The forest, named the Janet Gallogly Allegany Wildlands, is located near Allegany State Park. It is home to a rich diversity of plants and animals.

Although it is not yet open to visitors, the Land Conservancy plans to soon build a walking trail system for the public which will keep the forest open as a publicly accessible nature preserve.

The property was purchased from the Sluga family, who voted unanimously to decide to sell the property to the Land Conservancy. Family member Steve Sluga said, “By selling to the Land Conservancy we knew we’d get to share this special place with others, but also that we’d have some control over what happened to it. That was important to us. We didn’t want to see the forest exploited. This public nature preserve is the best-case scenario for us, and we couldn’t be happier.”

Land Conservancy Executive Director Nancy Smith said the purchase of the forest next to protected state land is part of the long-term goal of establishing the Western New York Wildway. The WNY Wildway will link the forests of northern Pennsylvania to Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, and ultimately across the state to the Finger Lakes, the Adirondacks, and beyond.

It will be part of the Eastern Wildway, which stretches from the Gulf of Mexico all the way to Canada. The Wildway will allow wildlife to roam across the landscape as they once did, it will allow plants and animals that have disappeared from the region to return home, and it will allow them to move around to find suitable habitat as climate changes.

Tina Toole of the Pennsylvania section of the 4,800 mile, eight state long North Country Trail talks with WRFA’s Anthony Merchant about the amazing parts of the NCT that run through PA’s Allegheny National Forest and NY’s Allegany State Park. They also get into this years NCT100, NCTPA50 and FLT60, finding your love for nature, why the trail is perfect for every level hiker, how people can volunteer and help out on the North Country Trail and more.

northcountrytrail.org/hike-100-challenge/
www.nps.gov/noco/index.htm
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www.instagram.com/northcountrytrail

Spongy Moth in caterpillar stage

The State Department of Environmental Conservation will be conducting aerial treatments for the invasive pest spongy moth (formerly known as gypsy moth) in six high priority forests, including Allegany State Park.

Treatment will take place until May 31, weather permitting. The priority areas chosen already suffered spongy moth defoliation for multiple years and are expected to have another high level of infestation this year according to survey efforts conducted by DEC regional staff.

DEC Forester Rob Cole said 13-hundred acres of Allegany State Park will be treated as well as 750 acres in Region 9, which includes Chautauqua County.

Cole said the treatment being used is a biopesticide called Gypchek, “Which was developed by the U.S. Forest Service. And it’s a virus that’s specific to the spongy moth. And in areas it is applied, it is considered very effective. In areas it is applied, we’ll noticed a lessened [presence of moths], as opposed to adjacent areas where it was not applied.”

Spongy moths are a non-native insect. It was introduced in New England during the mid-1800s for silk production.

While large wooded areas probably would need to be sprayed, Cole said homeowners can protect trees by putting sticky bands around them and then later wrap folded over burlap around trees for when the caterpillars are looking for a place to pupate.

Homeowners finding spongy moth caterpillars on their property are encouraged to submit a report to the State DEC by emailing foresthealth@dec.ny.gov

The Western New York Land Conservancy and the Friends of the Allegany Wildlands are announcing a $310,000 matching gift to save the Allegany Wildlands, a stunning 200-acre forest located only a few hundred feet from the Allegheny Reservoir near Allegany State Park. They need members of the community to donate to match the gift by the end of this year. Every dollar donated will be matched, dollar for dollar. The total fundraising goal to save the Allegany Wildlands is $879,000, and they have to secure that funding by the end of this year. Once that goal is met, the Land Conservancy will purchase the land and keep it open as a publicly accessible nature preserve forever.

The Allegany Wildlands is home to a spectacular diversity of plants and animals. During the last ice age, the glaciers never covered this forest, keeping intact an ancient plant community. As recently as 150 years ago, the forest teemed with massive American Chestnut trees, which had dominated eastern forests for 40 million years, but were wiped out by a blight. Amazingly, six American Chestnuts that are more than 40-feet tall still survive at the Allegany Wildlands, some of which are producing seeds. Large oaks, a threatened lily called a White Clintonia, and rare orchids also grow here. Underneath the forest canopy, black bear and bobcat roam the ridges and ravines. Majestic Bald Eagles soar overhead, colorful songbirds nest in the tall trees, and playful river otters search for fish in the nearby reservoir.

But the Allegany Wildlands is also threatened. If the Land Conservancy community cannot meet its fundraising goal by December 31, 2021, it could be logged and developed.

The Gallogly Family Foundation has given $200,000 towards the matching gift. Kasey DeLuke of the foundation, also a Land Conservancy board member, said: “The Land Conservancy has proven time again to be excellent champions of our region’s most environmentally significant forests. Over the years, they have demonstrated how the work of a dedicated community can benefit an entire region. We are extraordinarily pleased to be able to assist the Land Conservancy in their efforts to save this incredible forest.”

The matching gift includes $100,000 from the Lenna Foundation. “The rolling, thickly forested hills that carpet this area are some of the most beautiful in our region,” said Randy Ordines, President of the Lenna Foundation. “By protecting the Allegany Wildlands, the Land Conservancy community is helping to form a corridor of connectivity from Northern Pennsylvania to the Finger Lakes—joining with other protected forests up and down the east coast. We are proud to assist the Land Conservancy in these efforts.”

A third, anonymous donor contributed an additional $10,000.

“Saving forests like the Allegany Wildlands is incredibly rewarding work,” said Nancy Smith, Executive Director of the Land Conservancy. “But it truly takes a community coming together to make this work successful. We are immensely grateful for these gifts. They are a strong show of support for the work we’re doing to protect the Allegany Wildlands, and to build a future Western New York where lush green forests remain intact.”

In the early 1800s, the property was purchased by the Sluga family from the Holland Land Company. Generations of their family have been its stewards ever since. Though the Sluga family has decided to sell their land, for the next chapter of this forest’s story, they want it protected. Protecting the Allegany Wildlands will also kick off an ambitious idea—creating the Western New York Wildway. The Wildway will be a connected corridor of protected lands that stretches from the vast forests of northern Pennsylvania to the Great Lakes, through to the Finger Lakes, the Adirondacks, and beyond. It will form part of the Eastern Wildway which runs all the way from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. The Wildway will allow plants and animals to migrate across the land as they once did, it will allow those that have disappeared from our region to return home, and it will allow those in need to move around to new homes as climate changes. The Allegany Wildlands is already connected to 7,000 acres of protected state land, nestled between Allegany State Park and South Valley State Forest, and it is a significant link in a future Western New York Wildway.

The Land Conservancy needs donations of all sizes in order to save the Allegany Wildlands. For larger donations, naming opportunities include:

• ONE DONOR OF $200,000 can name the preserve (Reserved)
• ONE DONOR OF $100,000 can have the trail named in their honor (Reserved)
• DONORS OF $25,000 OR MORE can have a bench named in their honor.
• DONORS OF $10,000 OR MORE will have their name listed on a plaque placed at the preserve.
• DONORS OF $2,000 OR MORE will be recognized in the Land Conservancy newsletter.

If you would like to donate to save the Allegany Wildlands, you can donate online at wnylc.org or send a check made payable to “Western New York Land Conservancy” to P.O. Box 471, East Aurora, NY 14052. Please call or email if you have questions: (716) 687-1225 or info@wnylc.org.

The Western New York Land Conservancy is a regional, not-for-profit land trust that permanently protects land with significant conservation value in Western New York for current and future generations. The Land Conservancy envisions a future in which open spaces, working lands, wildlife habitat, and scenic beauty are cherished and protected as part of the landscape and character of Western New York. The Land Conservancy is accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission and is one of 1000+ land trusts nationwide, including 87 in New York State. Land trusts have protected over 56 million acres of land. To learn more about the Land Conservancy, visit wnylc.org.

WRFA’s Julia Ciesla-Hanley spoke with Western New York Land Conservancy Deputy Executive Director Jajean Rose-Burney about plans to purchase property next to Allegany State Park as well as the WNY Wildway.

Image by Michael Head on flickr.

ALLEGANY STATE PARK – Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul was in Cattaraugus County on Tuesday for the official opening of the new, $4 million Quaker Lake bathhouse at Allegany State Park.

The $4 million investment in the replacement of the former bathhouse is part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s PARKS 2020 initiative designed to funnel $900 million into state parks over 10 years.

Former Chautauqua County executive and current State Parks Western District Director Mark Thomas said the old Quaker Lake Bathhouse had seen 45 years of service but was showing its age. It was demolished last year after Labor Day.

The new building is a modern, 10,000-square-foot, energy-efficient facility, officials said.

The lieutenant governor who is originally from Buffalo said one of her fondest memories was spending time with her family as a child camping in Allegany State Park.

Allegany State Park

ALBANY – Attendance at New York State Park campgrounds is on pace for another record-setting year. That’s according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who’s reminding New Yorkers that many of the state’s finest camping facilities are open for fall camping well into the fall.

Through August 17, New York State Park campgrounds are on pace for the busiest year on record. Visitors have reserved more than 562,000 overnight stays at State Park campgrounds so far, marking a 5.2 percent increase over 2014. The record set last year was 594,441 overnight stays.

Reservations are accepted for campsites and cabins, from one day to nine months in advance of the planned arrival date. Visit newyorkstateparks.reserveamerica.com or call toll free 1-800-456-CAMP.

Locally, the last night of camping availability in 2015 is Oct. 11 for Lake Erie State Park in Portland and December 1 for Allegany State Park in Cattaraugus County.

The project was announced by Governor Andrew Cuomo on Earth Day as part of a $90 million fund in the 2014-15 state budget to improve state parks and historic sites.  Allegany State Park in Cattaraugus County also landed two grants totaling $1.5 million.

Hundreds of eager participants will gather for this annual outdoor learning experience on Friday thru Sunday, May 31-June 2, at Camp Allegany in the Red House area of New York’s Allegany State Park. The park’s cabins and campsites provide a home for many, while others commute from home or prefer local motels.

Dozens of knowledgeable outdoor enthusiasts will lead hikes and field trips, offer classes and workshops, and present programs and demonstrations. Their topics will range from trees, flowers, ferns, insects, birds, salamanders, reptiles, tracks, mammals, geology, astronomy, and ecology, to yoga, paper-making, photography, sketching, and nature games. Participants are welcome to just relax, visit, or hike, as well.

Volunteers from the Burroughs Audubon Nature Club and the Buffalo, Jamestown, and Presque Isle Audubon Societies organize the annual outing.

To register and for more information about the Allegany Nature Pilgrimage, visit alleganynaturepilgrimage.com or call 1-800-456-CAMP.

On Tuesday afternoon, a local hiker reported to authorities that he had found what he believed to be human remains. The remains were located near the Art Roscoe Cross Country Ski Trails in the Red House area of Allegany State Park. That is the same area where Thomas Hamilton was reported missing a year-and-a-half ago. Because of items found near the remains that match what Hamilton had with him when he was last scene, police are confident that they were his remains. They are still waiting for results from the autopsy to prove without a doubt that it was the elderly hiker.

Hamilton had gone hiking on Nov. 10, 2010, with his 66-year-old daughter, Rebecca Huffman. The two had reportedly spent the night in the park after straying from a ski trail and became disoriented in the dark. The next morning, Huffman had went to get help, but was unable to lead rescuers back to where she had last seen her father. An 8-day search then took place afterward.