Land Trust Receives $100K State Grant for Brookwood Point

COOPERSTOWN—The Otsego Land Trust has been awarded $100,000.00 by the Department of Environmental Conservation through the New York State Conservation Partnership Program with the Land Trust Alliance.

The grant will be used to develop a new walking trail and paddling launch on the north side of the Brookwood Point Conservation Area.

“We are grateful to New York State and the Land Trust Alliance for their generous support,” said Gregory Farmer, executive director.

“The new walking trail and paddling launch will provide safer and easier opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to connect to nature,” Farmer said.

Delta Engineers, Architects and Surveyors of Endwell was hired by Otsego Land Trust last year to update the master plan for the north side of Brookwood Point.

The proposed north side improvements have received broad support from Otsego Land Trust’s partners, Otsego Area Rowing and the Otsego Sailing Club. The Town of Otsego Zoning Board of Appeals approved the north side project at its May 21 meeting, despite complaints from several concerned citizens and adjoining property owners.

The Brookwood Point Conservation Area encompasses 22 acres just north of Cooperstown. The property includes a creek, wetlands, formal gardens, fields and forests. It is popular with residents and visitors for its natural beauty and the access to Otsego Lake.

The New York State Conservation Partnership Program offers competitive matching grants to qualified New York land trusts to advance land conservation, economic development, farmland protection, community conservation, and recreation and tourism.

Otsego Land Trust is a community-based nonprofit protecting local fields, forests and waterways in perpetuity since 1988.

To learn more about volunteer opportunities at Brookwood Point and other public properties, visit otsgeolandtrust.org/events, sign up for e-mails, or follow Otsego Land Trust on Facebook.