2024 Highlights & 2023 Annual
Report
“Anything worth doing takes time.”
—Dick Gibbs, Founding Board Member
The time it takes
“Anything worth doing takes time,” said Dick Gibbs, walking on his farm in Wynantskill a few years ago. A founding member of the Rensselaer Plateau Alliance (RPA) and longtime member of Rensselaer Land Trust (RLT), Dick was referring to the work it took to build RPA up from a bold idea to what it is today.
In the case of both RPA and RLT, now merged into a single Rensselaer County land trust, all the time invested over the years in trying new things, taking risks, and building relationships has transformed into something incredible.
Together with you and others who care, the merged land trust has conserved more than 16,000 acres across the county. Since we finalized the merger January 1, this momentum has continued with several more special places protected—projects in the works for several years.
The one I’m most excited to share with you happens to be the smallest. After five years of effort, we will soon be able to conserve 12 acres in the City of Troy that will—at long last—provide full public access to the Poesten Kill Bends Preserve. Once complete, visitors will be able to cross a bridge into this beautiful urban preserve.
Our new organizational mission to conserve land across Rensselaer County—from the Hudson River to the Taconic crest—is at work as we explore conservation projects along the Hudson River.
Along with more places to enjoy nature, I can’t wait to reveal our new name to you later this summer. A new name and website will reflect everything that’s to come, and how our work is expanding to include all of Rensselaer County.
Every day, I’m grateful you are part of this adventure. Thinking of what Dick Gibbs said, I know it has all been well worth the time and effort. Thank you for your part in it.
Sincerely,
Jim Bonesteel, Executive Director
P.S. This is an exciting time of change as RPA and RLT come together as a single, county-wide land trust, building on great things about both organizations. In this newsletter, we’ll refer to the merged land trust as RPA. Soon, you’ll be hearing updates from us with our new name.
Honoring the legacy of Rensselaer Land Trust
Founded in 1987 by a small group of professors, environmental professionals, botanists, and historians, RLT (originally Rensselaer-Taconic Land Conservancy, or R-TLC) protected land and water across Rensselaer County with the support of many devoted members. They were known and loved for their many public outings, their work along the Hudson River and in the City of Troy, their commitment to Tomhannock Reservoir watershed protection, and so much more. The land trust produced a Rensselaer County Conservation Plan, a County Trail Vision Plan, and a Hudson River Access plan. The legacy of RLT lives on through the special places protected, many caring members, and countless accomplishments.
John B. Staalesen Vanderheyden Preserve in South Troy, one of many special places conserved by Rensselaer Land Trust, is now owned and managed by our merged organization.
Community forest on the northern plateau
Following the winding roads along the northern edge of the Rensselaer Plateau from Troy, you feel like you have entered an entirely different world.
The landscape opens into farmland and then closes again into dense evergreen forests. The air cools to a mountain temperature.
When you reach Lanford Wood
Community Forest, rocky ledges and green slopes greet you. A hike in the forest reveals pleasant overlooks and vantage points.
“I
His vision was to create a new community forest. RPA then bought an adjacent parcel, making Lanford Wood Community Forest 519 acres in all.
Lanford Wood is part of a large forest block on the plateau that includes a rocky slope complex, making it especially important for wildlife. Dense forests provide shelter for deep forest-dwelling animals such as bobcats and bears.
like how quickly RPA moves to conserve important forests... [RPA] started as a small group of volunteers with a vision. It’s grown quickly into something remarkable.”
It’s easy to see why Bill Lanford found this place so enticing when he bought it in the 1980s— and wanted to protect it, forever.
In 2023, Bill, who lives just south of the Rensselaer Plateau, sold 447 acres of beautiful forestland to RPA at a deep discount.
Sitting between Pittstown State Forest and Tibbitts State Forest, the community forest helps create a connected landscape that these animals can travel through safely—while also offering abundant opportunities for hikers and mountain bikers.
A recovering & thriving landscape
The forests of Lanford Wood were first stewarded by the Mohican people before they were forcibly
Natural Climate Solutions
One piece of the climate puzzle lies within our forests, wildlands, and farms, all of which store carbon and reduce the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. They also protect us from the effects of climate change. Wetlands absorb storm water like sponges, lessening the extent of floods.
On the Rensselaer Plateau, more than 3,000 acres of wetlands help protect communities all the way to the Hudson River. Trees also slow down flood waters and filter pollutants. Places like Lanford Wood Community Forest and other conserved lands help in a big way. When we keep our forests, wetlands, and soils intact, we are taking a stand for our climate and making a lasting difference for our future generations.
displaced from the plateau and surrounding region by European colonists.
In 1761, King George III granted 60,000 acres to colonial land speculators who surveyed the land into numbered lots, forming the Pittstown Patent.
One of these parcels, known as Great Lot #10, was left mostly wild due to its steep and rocky nature, but the other lots were cleared for farming. Remnants of stone fences from these farms are still visible throughout the landscape.
Left alone in recent decades, the forest has grown back as a strong and healthy ecosystem, much as it was 200 years ago, with fishers, porcupines, bears, bobcats, and woodland birds calling this forest home. The rocky slopes support rare plants.
Bill’s lifelong connection to land
Bill grew up on a farm in Schodack. He learned early how to care for large pieces of land and the intrinsic value of wild places.
A few years ago, RPA was raising money to expand the Poestenkill Community Forest. As a first-time donor to RPA, Bill closed the gap to finish the project. More recently, he donated funds to create the Lanford Fund Bequest Challenge, a new legacy giving program at RPA.
Bill says, “I like how quickly RPA moves to conserve important forests across Rensselaer County. The organization started as a small group of volunteers with a vision. It’s grown quickly into something remarkable.”
When deciding what to do with his land, knowing he and his family wanted it to stay undeveloped, Bill approached RPA. “I know it’s in good hands.”
With an expected opening date in 2025, Lanford Wood Community Forest will soon offer miles of trails for all to enjoy The Rensselaer Plateau Alliance and Bill Lanford look forward to sharing these beautiful woodlands—and rocky ledges— with all who wish to come out and explore.
This project was made possible, in part, by a grant from Scenic Hudson.
Pete Nuij
“I
A project inspired by a passion for people
On a sunny afternoon among colorful blooms in a newly planted sensory garden, Christina Bell shares some striking statistics.
“Ninety percent of people will experience a disability at some point in their lives. In Rensselaer County, 10.5% of the population is living with a disability and under the age of 65.”
Despite these numbers, she says, most of the trails and outdoor spaces available to the public are not built with accessibility in mind.
This lack of disability-centered spaces urged Christina to apply to the Barnabas McHenry Hudson River Valley Award program, which is administered by the Open Space Institute. She received a 2023 fellowship for her project to create the Sensory Nature Trail at Albert Family Community Forest in East Nassau.
Christina, who graduated this spring from Siena College with a major in Environmental Studies and minors in Education and Business, was inspired to design this trail by people close to her.
One of her inspirations is the little brother of her childhood best friend. He has autism and is nonverbal. “There isn’t really any place for him to go and have fun,” she says. She wishes he had the same opportunities as others to enjoy himself outdoors.
Through her project, Christina wants to create something people of all ages and abilities can enjoy in their own way, at their own pace. The six sensory stations along the trail are just that.
The native plant sensory garden beckons visitors to smell, touch, and look at flowers and grasses with varied textures, scents, and colors.
wanted the garden to include plants that are good for smelling, for feeling the texture, and that are sturdy enough that if someone plucked a leaf or pulled at them they would be ok,” says Barnabas McHenry award fellow Christina Bell. The raised garden beds were built by volunteer Charlie Kavanaugh and the plants were selected and planted by Master Gardener volunteers from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rensselaer County.
Thank you, conservation community!
The Sensory Nature Trail was made possible by:
The Barnabas McHenry
Hudson River Valley Award
In honor of Barney McHenry’s contributions and accomplishments, the Open Space Institute has established and administers an award to celebrate his leadership and foster future leaders in the Hudson River Valley. The annual award will be used to provide financial support to promising young leaders and exemplary projects that make significant contributions to environmental protection, historic preservation, tourism, environmental justice, and the arts in the Hudson River Valley.
Master Gardener volunteers from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rensselaer County
Cathy Welling, Kim Tucci, Elizabeth Kauffman, Pat Mulligan, Anne Burton
The Sensory Nature Trail Project Team
Christina Bell, Fred McCagg, Dan Bogan, Dan Morse, Kim Murdick
The plants are arranged in raised beds (tall enough for people with trouble bending but low enough for people in a wheelchair) with a 5 ft turning radius around them for wheelchair accessibility. The garden gate is light enough that someone with limited mobility can push it open.
There will also be a listening station, a play area with a cargo net for climbing, and two “Cuddle Cocoon” swings, where visitors can sway gently in a small, tent-like enclosure. Christina designed the stations for people with autism or other sensory differences, but they will be open to all visitors.
Christina’s sensory stations are being installed this summer along the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant trail recently completed by Albert Family Community Forest steward and RPA board president Fred McCagg,
Community Advisors
Thomas Olsen, Lindsay Green, Loren Penman, Gail Serventi
Additional Volunteers
Charlie Kavanaugh, Mark Bell
The Pileated Pathway trail was made possible by:
Marjorie Rockwell Fund for the Disabled of The Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region, John Paul Keegan and Jennifer Wiley, Karen Brown*, Fred Holford, Paul Hummel*, Lee King, Cynthia Venuti*, Casey Wiley*, Collin Wiley*, Maureen Wiley*, Perennial Landscaping, O’Neil Seal, Callanan Industries, Volunteers from Callanan Industries, Inc., the Rensselaer Plateau Alliance / Rensselaer Land Trust Trail Crew, Home Depot-North Greenbush Store, and Forest Conservation Corps 2023 and 2024
*In honor of the Wedding of John Paul Keegan and Jennifer Wiley
Fred’s trail, called Pileated Pathway, offers a 4,000-foot round trip with a wetland lookout along the way and two wheelchair-accessible picnic tables built by volunteer Lee King.
Fred has already hosted people with limited mobility and a group of adults living with Parkinson’s Disease.
“This is all about inclusivity. When talking about diversity, we often don’t think enough about physical and intellectual disabilities. There aren’t enough places like this around,” says Fred.
To Christina, access to nature for people with disabilities is an issue of environmental justice, and one she feels strongly about. “I hope this trail inspires others to create accessible spaces, so there are more to choose from,” she says.
Forest Conservation Corps (FCC) 2023 participants, staff, and property steward Chuck Porter test out one of the benches they built during their week at Valentino Family Community Forest. Each week of FCC, a group of ten teens spends time together, working and learning, at a different natural area in Rensselaer County. As of 2023, 125 local youth had participated in FCC, many of whom returned for multiple years of programming.
Teens learn, work, and play on the land
In summer, 2023, nearly sixty 14–16-year-olds from throughout Rensselaer County participated in Rensselaer Youth Outdoors’ (RYO) Forest Conservation Corps (FCC), a service-learning program for teens.
While earning a stipend, the youth spent time on the land together—learning, working, and playing—at six sites throughout the county, including RPA’s community forests, RLT’s John B.Staalesen Vanderheyden Preserve, Grafton Lakes State Park, and Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center.
The teens built a compost bin, benches, birdhouses, a new connector trail, and “Assess Vegetation for Impacts from Deer” (AVID) plots.
They maintained miles of trails, removed invasive plants, and added drainage under the accessible trail at Albert Family Community Forest. In all, FCC teens contributed 750 service hours across the County, made new friends, and got to know the land—and maybe even themselves—a little better. This summer, teens are out on the land again for another full season of work and fun!
In 2024, under RYO Director Michala Hendrick’s leadership, RYO received funding from the U.S. Forest Service’s Urban Connections Grant Program to support two years of FCC programming. This also allowed the program to increase youth stipends from $100 to $200.
Rensselaer Youth Outdoors is a partnership program between RPA, Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center, and Grafton Lakes State Park.
Thank you for taking a stand for land!
Year after year, our members and supporters make a lasting difference for our land, water, wildlife, and future generations.
Your care and commitment keep this work going, helping to conserve and steward land and water across Rensselaer County for the people who live, work, and recreate here.
Volunteers at the heart of it
Volunteers spent 3,985 hours building trails, teaching workshops, planning events – you name it!
Bringing people and nature together
Over 1,000 people participated in an RPA program or outing
Helping amphibians cross the road
Community Science volunteers helped 5 distinct species of frogs and salamanders cross the road to get to their breeding pools
Saving land, for good
Four new public conservation areas conserved—forever
For the love of hemlocks
On a chilly April morning, RPA staff helped release 2,500 silver flies on hemlock trees affected by Hemlock Wooly Adelgid (HWA).
A much-loved tree of our local forests, the Eastern Hemlock has been impacted throughout its range by HWA, a non-native insect. On the Rensselaer Plateau, hemlocks have largely been spared, but in recent years the pest has shown up on some of the trees at Albert Family Community Forest.
RPA partnered with Capital Region Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM), the New York State Hemlock Initiative, and the New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation to release silver flies, a wellstudied and safe natural predator of HWA.
As there is a limited supply of silver flies available, Albert was one of just a few sites chosen this year. It was picked for its ecological importance and with the hope of preventing spread to other forests on the plateau.
All year long, monthly giving keeps conservation going
Did you know you can make a difference every day with a sustaining membership? Monthly gifts of any amount, whether $10 or $100, make our work possible year-round.
Thank you to our 2023 monthly donors
Louis and Felicia Adams
Regina and Bill Andrews
Robert Bayly and Catherine Karp
Tyler Bellamy
Ian Bonesteel
Jim Bonesteel and Jill Rembetski
Nancy Brandt
Jeffrey and Jean Briggs
William Buschofsky
Cheryl Cammer
Michele Casavant
Janet Cohn
Kelly Colgan-Azar
Diane DeBlois
Ed and Laura Degenhart
Francille Egbert
Ronald Geuther
Challen Hammer
Logan Hardy
Jeanne Holm
Martin Hotvet
Jane and John Husson
George Jacobs
Melodee James
Barbara Kamm
Patricia Kutz
Elise Martin
Fred McCagg and Lani Richards
Maria McCashion
Dan Morse
Janice Nissen
Nordutch Technologies
Cary Oshins
Dale-Ila Riggs and Donald Miles
Garreth and Eliza Santosuosso
Rik and Wendy Scarce
August Schneeberg and Kate Lovering
Michael Schwarz and Tanja Eise
Lisa Triano
Kimberly and Paul Tucci
Peter Vellis
Dana Yamashita
Wolf Creek Community Forest, a new 375-acre conservation project on the eastern plateau, features a rushing stream with waterfalls and a high point called Rocky Hill. Calcium-rich soils support spring wildflowers such as blue cohosh and columbine.
Thanks to a generous gift from Lisa and Harry Gutheil, Wolf Creek will be conserved in the coming months. The Gutheils’ vision is to create a place where people of all ages can enjoy nature, to connect young people with the land, and to help build momentum for more conservation projects.
Harry reflects, “I see it as one piece of a jigsaw puzzle, with connections to other places, that will hopefully inspire more people who want to get involved in protecting land.”
*Proceeds from sale of land to NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and merger related income. These are preliminary unaudited figures. For audited financials, contact Jim at 518-712-9211 or jim@rensselaerplateau.org.
PO Box 790
Averill Park, NY 12018
518-712-9211
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Rachel Riemann Akera
Jeff Briggs, Secretary
Bob Crowley
Fred DeMay, Vice President
Jim de Waal Malefyt
Tanja Eise
David Farren
David Gaskell
Rama Hamarneh
Keith Hirokawa
Pam Jacobson, Treasurer
Walter Kersch, Assistant Treasurer
Michelle LeClair
Fred McCagg, President
Hanns Meissner
Thomas Phillips
Sophie Schwarz-Eise
Jim Slavin
BOARD OF ADVISORS
John Bartow
Lawrence Howard
Lisa Hoyt
Bill Niemi
Chet Opalka
Teri Ptacek
Karen Strong
Gary Thomann
STAFF
Jim Bonesteel
Executive Director
Jim Daus
WQIP Manager
Alana Gerus
Conservation Project Manager
Bay Habshey
Operations & Development Manager
Elizabeth Hayes
Communications & Development
Associate
Michala Hendrick
Rensselaer Youth Outdoors Director
Annie Jacobs
Communications Director
Dan Morse
Data Systems Manager
Kim Murdick
Volunteer Coordinator
Andrew Schwitzgebel
Stewardship Manager
Cover image by Michala Hendrick Image to right by Kelly Colgan Newsletter design by Kate Belton