WRFA’s Julia Ciesla-Hanley speaks with Western New York Land Conservancy‘s Jajean Rose-Burney about the purchase of the Allegany Wildlands.

Allegany Wildlands

The Western New York Land Conservancy announced it has met its fundraising goal to purchase the Allegany Wildlands.

The 200-acre forest is located in South Valley near Allegany State Park in Cattaraugus County. The Western New York Land Conservancy and Friends of the Allegany Wildlands raised $879,000 for the purchase, which included a $347,000 grant form the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

Western New York Land Conservancy Deputy Executive Director Jajean Rose-Burney said they’re so excited to be able to move forward with purchasing the property, “This forest has American Chestnut trees, which is, these trees have basically been wiped out 100 years ago by a blight. But, this property still has 5 or 6 that are 40 to 60 feet tall, some that are flowering, great wildlife – bobcats, black bears, great plants, orchids. It’s a place that 10,000 years ago wasn’t even covered by glaciers so these plant communities have had much longer to develop and become more diverse.”

Rose-Burney said once the land purchase goes through this year, they hope to open it to the public as a nature preserve that includes walking trails by middle of 2023.

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.

Rose-Burney said the Western New York Wildway will be part of the Wildlands Network’s Eastern Wildway, which is a planned network of wildlands and corridors from Eastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. He added that it would help plants and animals that might have disappeared from the region in the last 200 years come back, “You know, as climate changes and habitats change due to climate change and warming it’ll allow plants and animals to move across the landscape as they need as they seek and find and need new suitable habitats as climate changes.”

The Land Conservancy will use the funding to meet over the next year with partners to refine the Wildway boundary map; prioritize parcels for protection; and write and design the plan.

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.

CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY – The Western New York Land Conservancy and the Friends of the College Lodge Forest are announcing a $200,000 challenge gift to save the College Lodge Forest, a spectacular 168-acre property located near Fredonia.

On Oct. 1, WRFA’s Jason Sample talked with Jajean Rose-Burney, WNY Land Conservancy deputy executive director, to learn about the organization’s preservation effort involving the College Lodge Forest.

The organization is asking community members to donate to match the challenge gift by the end of this year. The community has already raised more than $400,000 toward its goal of $790,000 to save the forest. Once the challenge gift is matched, they will meet that goal, purchase the land, and keep it open as a publicly accessible nature preserve forever.

The College Lodge Forest is a cherished community gathering place and one of the most exquisite natural areas remaining in Western New York. It includes an incredible diversity of wildlife, a pristine wetland with carnivorous plants and freshwater coral, and old-growth forest with native orchids and 400-year-old trees. It also includes miles of hiking, snowshoeing, and cross-country ski trails. The land rests on a continental divide: on one side rainwater drains towards Lake Erie and the Atlantic Ocean, while on the other side it drains towards the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The land is also threatened. If not protected now, it could be logged.

The challenge gift includes $100,000 from the Lenna Foundation. “Ever since the enterprising students at SUNY Fredonia purchased the property, the College Lodge Forest has been a place of enormous significance in Western New York,” Joe Johnson, President of the Lenna Foundation, said. “As a research center and as a refuge for people to get outdoors and into nature, its value to our community is incalculable. We are thrilled to assist in the Land Conservancy’s efforts to save this local treasure.”

The Gallogly Family Foundation has offered $50,000 towards the challenge gift. Kasey DeLuke of the foundation, also a Land Conservancy board member, said: “The College Lodge Forest has always been home to rare and incredible wildlife, like migratory songbirds that fly all the way from South America; a diverse array of amphibians and reptiles; and gorgeous wildflowers including seven distinct species of orchids. We encourage everyone to take a trip to Chautauqua County and see this ecological wonder for themselves.”

Another Land Conservancy board member, Kathryn Lasher, and her partner, Scott Bieler, president of West Herr Automotive Group, also contributed $50,000 to the challenge gift. “We are blessed with an abundance of natural beauty here in Western New York,” Kathy said. “But some of that abundance, like the College Lodge Forest, is in critical danger of being lost forever. So it’s crucial to our children and grandchildren and to future generations of Western New Yorkers that we protect spectacular places like this.”

“Saving valuable lands for future generations is an ongoing process,” said Nancy Smith, Executive Director of the Land Conservancy. “There is no pause button to press during difficult times. This pandemic has shown us all just how important nature is for our mental, physical, and even spiritual health. And these gifts represent a strong show of support for the work we’re doing to permanently protect the College Lodge Forest. We are immensely grateful.”

The property was purchased in 1939 by SUNY Fredonia students, with their own funds, for the main objective of promoting health outdoors. Since then, the land has been a prized learning laboratory for thousands of teachers, researchers, students, and the entire community. The Faculty Student Association (FSA), a non-profit auxiliary of SUNY Fredonia, has owned the property and operated a historic lodge on the site since 1969. But the cost of maintaining the land and all of the buildings is high, and the FSA proposed a plan to raise funds by logging the forest, including the old-growth trees. Fortunately, the FSA decided to sell a large portion of the land to the Land Conservancy and enable protection of the forest. By purchasing 168 acres from the FSA, the Land Conservancy will protect the forest and the FSA will be able to invest funds from the sale into the stewardship of visitor facilities on the portion of the property it retains. The FSA will continue to own and operate the lodge and the 33 acres surrounding it.

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

• One donor of $200,000 can name the preserve
• One donor of $100,000 can have the old-growth grove named in their honor (Reserved)
• One donor of $100,000 can have the beaver pond named in their honor
• One donor of $50,000 can have the small island named in their honor (Reserved)
• One donor of $50,000 can have the birdwatching blind named in their honor
• One donor of $50,000 can have a wooden footbridge named in their honor
• One donor of $50,000 can have a panoramic viewpoint of the beaver pond named in their honor
• Donors of $20,000 can have a bench in the outdoor amphitheater 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 College Lodge Forest, 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 the benefit of 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 90 in New York State. Land trusts have protected 56 million acres of land.