Early History of the Rensselaer-Taconic Land Conservancy and Rensselaer Land Trust
by Roger Armstrong, Founding Member
Origins
In the summer of 1987, historian-environmentalist Warren Broderick began to talk with several fellow members of the Rensselaer County Environmental Management Council (EMC) about protecting land in the County. The legal vehicle of a Conservation Easement, in which a special parcel of land becomes protected from development in perpetuity, had only recently come into usage in several regions of the country. Broderick proposed that a land trust be formed to undertake the process of land protection in Rensselaer County.
A few months later, a group of interested individuals met in the parlor of the Herman Melville House, the home base of the Lansingburgh Historical Society, to discuss the possible formation of a Rensselaer County land trust. After several exploratory meetings, the group agreed to apply for status as a not-for-profit corporation under the name Rensselaer-Taconic Land Conservancy (R-TLC). The Certificate of Incorporation was granted by NY state in November, 1987. There were nine founding members of the new organization:
Roger Armstrong, Professor of Chemistry, Russell Sage College, Troy, NY
James Atkinson, NY State Energy Research and Development Authority, Albany, NY
Lisa (Birr) Hoyt, Environmental Educator, Rensselaer County, Troy, NY
Warren Broderick, NY State Archivist and Environmentalist, Lansingburgh, NY
John Gowdy, Professor of Economics, Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., Troy, NY
John Munn, NY State Dept. of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY
Margaret Olsen, Eastern NY Chapter, The Nature Conservancy, Albany, NY
Gregory Pattison, Self-employed cabinet maker, Lansingburgh, NY8
Donald Rittner, Historian and Preservationist, Schenectady, NY
Rittner was included in the initial group because of his extensive knowledge of the hurdles in forming a viable new organization: incorporation, not-for-profit status, publicity, funding, bylaws, etc. After the R-TLC was successfully launched, he resigned from the Board.
The Purposes of the new organization as stated in the Incorporation document were very broad and inclusive, “to obtain, possess or exercise control over real property in Rensselaer County, property which can be shown to possess significant natural features, scenic vistas, historical or archeological significance, open spaces, natural habitats or agricultural value; to preserve these areas and make them available for public purposes, and to promote their preservation and appropriate use.”
Early Years
Soon after its formation, a very adequate office/meeting room was rented in the old Lansingburgh Academy building on 114th Street. This site would become the home of the RTLC for its first 20 years. The initial slate of officers was President, Atkinson; VP, Armstrong; Treas., Munn; Sec., Broderick. (Over the years John Munn became the Swiss Army Knife of the organization. He designed and sold tee shirts and other merch at all events, made community connections and served as Treasurer off and on for over 25 years.)
Early interest in joining the all-voluntary Board of Directors was impressive. A 1991 list of Directors contains 18 names! Added Board members included four academics (Stanley Bunce and Regg Soracco, RPI; Bill Niemi and Tom Sweeney, Russell Sage), two women associated with The Nature Conservancy (Alane Ball, Kate Hubbs), a planner (Alan Hoagland), a geoscientist (Ed Fahrenkopf), a prominent NY State botanist (Norton Miller) and a fervent conservationist (Doree Cox).
R-TLC’s very first action to protect land was to transfer ownership of a parcel of land donated by conservationist Fred Wurtenburger over to its adjacent neighbor, the rapidly growing Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center in Grafton. Soon after, Directors Warren Broderick and Peg Olsen donated easements (Broderick, Broderick -Olsen) on two other contiguous parcels to expand the boundaries of the Center.
Much time and energy was focused on promoting the new organization and building a list of supporters (Note: A Membership structure was not set up until 2001.). By-laws were firmed up. A slate of professional consultants was assembled. Committees were set up. Board officers reached out to similar local organizations [e.g., the Albany County Land Conservancy (now the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy) and Washington County’s Agricultural Stewardship Association (ASA)] for advice.
Recognizing that funding streams must be developed, R-TLC distributed fliers (and eventually Newsletters) far and wide. One flier was returned by East Greenbush businessman Brian Zweig indicating his strong interest in becoming a Board member. After a year on the Board, Zweig became its new President in 1993 and would continue to guide the organization smoothly through the 90s.
Contributions of Warren Broderick
In addition to donating two easements, Broderick was involved in virtually all aspects of the organization in its first ten years. He served as Secretary for the first seven years, handled much of the early paperwork and he organized and led many outings and events. He also authored a set of monographs focused on historical events in Rensselaer County (e.g., The Albany Road, Granville Hicks) which were offered for sale at nominal cost.
Outings Programs
From its outset, R-TLC offered a robust annual hiking/outings pro gram to the community. These events, always led by two or more Directors, ranged from simple walks at County sites (spring wildflowers, waterfalls) to serious hikes (Taconic Crest). Some offerings included preliminary talks prior to the actual hikes. Hikes were free unless special resources or fees were involved. At its peak in 1999, Outings hosted 16 events; these adventures attracted a total of 432 hikers. Prominent Outings planners and leaders were Warren Broderick, Lisa (Birr) Hoyt, Doree Cox, Nick Conrad, Robert Ingalls and Bill Niemi.
Hike for Open Space
Among a variety of fundraising efforts, the Hike for Open Space (HOS), initiated in 1993, was the most creative. HOS invited hikers to obtain mileage pledges for hiking north on the Taconic Crest Trail in Petersburg into the famous Snow Hole. Round trip from the parking area on Rt. 2 is 10 miles. This event, held for several consecutive years, required elaborate setup work. Prizes and refreshments had to be solicited from area businesses, porta potties had to be reserved, police and emergency services had to be notified, etc. HOS was a rousing success from a publicity standpoint and it created great camaraderie between hikers and R-TLC members. As a fundraiser, it was only marginally productive, netting typically in the range of $1000 -$1500.
Christmas Tree Sales
For about ten years, R-TLC offered a Cut-Your-Own Christmas tree site in Grafton. The field was owned by Director Stan Bunce. Board volunteers served as the sales force and also as groomers and planters in the summer. Dave Aikens (and Bunce) were the primary planters and groomers. Every tree was $20 and Bunce donated the entire proceeds to R-TLC.
Hiking Guide Book
In 1994, R-TLC published a guidebook entitled Natural Areas of Rensselaer County, NY written by the naturalist Claire Schmitt of Schenectady. It described 29 hiking attractions in the County, including maps and photos. The book was marketed through area bookstores and also available directly from R-TLC. A second edition with additional input from Directors Norton Miller,
Warren Broderick, Jack Keenan and Bill Niemi followed in 2002. Proceeds from sales of this Guide provided a small income stream for several years.
Overall Finances
Income was lean; a 1999 financial statement showed an annual income less than $10,000. In the early years a Director’s personal interest-free loan helped to balance the books. Assets totaled about $50,000, the majority of which was the land value of two donated parcels.
Botany Projects
In addition to eminent botanist Dr. Norton Miller, there were several amateur but serious selftaught botanists on the Board. This group, along with volunteer expert field botanist Dr. David Hunt, combined to survey and map plant communities within several of the protected properties as well as in some public sites including Oakwood Cemetery. GPS mapping was in the hands of Regg Soracco who had considerable tech expertise. (Soracco was a major working contributor to the organization). Units of this work were offered to area schools in what was known as the Botany Education Project. This project received some small grant funding.
Summary of Accomplishments, 1987-2001
R-TLC had established itself as a viable land protection organization, limited by a lack of paid staff and funding sources. Nevertheless, it had been able to protect several parcels contiguous or close to the Dyken Pond Environmental Educational Center and had accepted donations of two large forested tracts in fee, all of the aforementioned lands on the Rensselaer Plateau. It had also acquired the Bear’s Den and Mud Pond sites. Its Outings Programs and unique fundraisers had built a solid base of community support.
2001-New Leadership and New Priorities
Based partially on a consultant’s recommendation, R-TLC became a Membership organization, with various levels of affiliation. Active Board member Glen Martin assumed the Presidency. With a very diverse background in education, grant writing, conservation, and entrepreneurship, Martin provided new energy and focus. She championed collaboration with other like-minded organizations and, with a future goal of adding paid staff, promoted a closer relationship with the Land Trust Alliance (LTA), a national organization that supports and guides the work of land trusts.
Farmland Protection
Rensselaer County includes a great deal of farmland, primarily dairy. Protecting those lands from development was becoming a priority in the early 2000s. Even as discussions were unfolding with several County farm owners, R-TLC became aware of the growing success of
the Agricultural Stewardship Association (ASA) in Washington County in securing ea sements to protect farmland. Although no formal agreements were involved, the Board agreed to support the ASA as the lead in future farmland protection projects in Rensselaer County. (As of 2023, ASA had protected over 30,000 acres of land (mostly farmland) in the two counties.)
RTLC was the impetus for creating Rensselaer County’s Ag and Farmland Protection Plan, which was finished in 2001 (“Keep It Growing"). NYS had just established grant funds to encourage each county to create an ag plan. Knowing that County leadership would be motivated by the thought of channeling State funds to the County, Eric Swanson and Brian Zweig approached Legislator Ken Herrington with the idea and he got the Legislature on board. Teri Ptacek, then of the American Farmland Trust, was hired to write the plan, which allowed for the protection of farmland in the County.
Tomhannock Reservoir Watershed Protection
The1720 -acre Tomhannock Reservoir east of Troy supplies water to over 100,000 residents in Troy and several other surrounding communities. Protecting this vital resource became a high priority goal for the R-TLC in the early 2000s. Key watershed properties were identified and, later, an annual Cleanup Day was established. Obtaining easements on land in the watershed proved to be very challenging.
Common Farms Easement
In 2003, a community of landowners in Poestenkill donated an easement on 129 shared acres to R-TLC. This group of environmentally committed residents included Judith Enck, who would later become nationally known for her work on environmental protection policies, and local environmental advocate, Marcia Hopple. This easement, which protected significant forested land, was the first large, preserved acreage not on the Rensselaer Plateau.
A Major Loss
In 2004, R-TLC’s highly respected President Glen Martin was forced to step aside for health reasons. After battling ovarian cancer for two years, she passed away in 2006 at age 53. VP Bill Niemi assumed the Presidency in 2004 and served committedly in that role through 2008. Another notable death in 2006 was that of James Atkinson, R-TLC’s first President. James had lived as a quadriplegic for twelve years after surviving a major swimming accident in 1994.
Dustin Swamp Parcel
Dyken Pond’s acquisition of this significant 42-acre property, replete with a Blue Herron rookery and beaver dams, adjacent to the Center, was a very special example of the kind of cooperative effort envisioned by Glen Martin. The organization Friends of Dyken Pond announced that this property had been offered for sale at a price considerably higher than they
could meet; they asked for fundraising help from R-TLC. Within just a few weeks, with help of substantial member donations and pledges, the necessary funds were raised!
2005-A Year of Transition
Early in 2005, R-TLC was one of four NY State land trusts to be awarded a sizable New York Conservation Partnership matching grant ($35,700) by the Land Trust Alliance. After an intense fundraising effort, the match was secured in late spring. These funds allowed the organization to search for and hire a half-time Executive Director and an office assistant. After 18 years, R-TLC was no longer just a volunteer Trust! The first ED, hired in the fall of 2005, was John Middlebrooks. Middlebrooks had had a long and distinguished career in the NY State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation . His many accomplishments included acquisition and restoration of the Mt. Lebanon Shaker Village and management of the 1100-acre Rockefeller State Park Preserve. After anal ysis, he told the Board that he was concerned that RTLC had become too much of a “hiking club” and should focus more time and energy on land protection.
2006-2008: Accreditation Pursuit
In 2004, the Land Trust Alliance, responding to growing national concerns about shady dealings in the growing practice of land protection, published an updated a 500-page manual called Land Trust Standards and Practices which outlined the whole array of policies and proper procedures that land trusts should adopt. Two years later, LTA announced a pilot program to accredit land trusts whose performance incorporated those ideals.
R-TLC accepted an invitation to participate in this process and established a working committee to undertake the huge task at hand. The Committee included: Chair, R. Armstrong; Board members, M. Barry, N. Conrad, J. Munn, W. Niemi; Exec. Dir. J. Middlebrooks; Consultant, Katrina Schindledecker. This Accreditation Committee had dozens of working meetings of its own plus additional sessions involving the whole Board. Every provision and policy in LTA’s Standards and Practices had to be examined in comparison to R-TLC's activity. In many instances, the full Board was asked to consider and approve entirely new policies and procedures. This painstaking work proceeded throughout 2007; it was estimated that upwards of 1000 person-hours were expended. Preparation included a trip by Armstrong and Middlebrooks to attend an informational forum for Massachusetts land trusts at which LTA discussed the entire accreditation process. At this meeting the R-TLC reps spoke forcefully about the need for LTA to weigh applications from small minimally staffed organizations differently than those from very large multi-staffed land trusts like the Nature Conservancy.
Late in 2007, R-TLC delivered its application to LTA. It consisted of several huge binders of responses plus library boxes of supportive documents. After requesting a bit more data, LTA set
up a two-day team visitation for early spring 2008. Later, R-TLC was delighted to learn that it had earned accreditation, the smallest of just 38 land trusts nationally to do so.
Change of Name to Rensselaer Land Trust (RLT)
In 2007, the Board voted to retire its 20-year name and become the Rensselaer Land Trust. There were two primary reasons for this change. Inclusion of the word “Taconic” had led some to infer that protecting land in the Taconic range was a primary goal; it was not. Secondly, the word “Conservancy” produced confusion that R-TLC was somehow connected to the Nature Conservancy. The latter had complicated fundraising efforts. An entirely new logo was designed.
Contributions of Robert Ingalls
Bob Ingalls, who joined the R-TLC Board in 1994, became a workhorse for the organization. He served in various officer roles and was a major player in organizing and leading outings. As an accomplished amateur botanist, he was centrally involved in the botany projects. He served as chair of the Stewardship Committee, responsible for the annual monitoring of all easements and holdings and was a diligent contributor to the Acquisitions Committee. He also served as the Webmaster of the RLT website. Bob died of multiple myeloma in 2010. In 2011, a forested 30-acre donated parcel in Stephentown was named the Robert Ingalls Preserve.
Unique Hoosic River Easement
In 2008, RLT was able to purchase two narrow parcels of farmland along the Hoosic River near the town of Eagle Bridge. An easement was given to the NY State Dept. of Environmental Conservation to construct a fishing access and boat launch site using a small area of this otherwise protected farmland. This project was successfully completed in 2010.
Multiple Roles of Garrett (Garry) Brown
Troy businessman and conservationist Garry Brown (Brown’s Brewing Company) joined the Board in 2007. In a show of support, he announced that he would donate a portion of the sales of his brew called Tomhannock Pilsener to RLT. In 2009, he agreed to assume the role of Treasurer. Garry also welcomed RLT to utilize his restaurant space for annual meetings and celebrations.
Relocation
In 2009, RLT moved its offices to 415 River St. There, close to the center of Troy, the organization hoped it would find it easier to increase its visibility and become more directly involved in City and County plans and activities. A new President (Nick Conrad ), a new
Fundraising Chair (Francille Egbert), a new Executive Director (Christine Young) and practically a whole new Board began the next chapter of the RLT.
In May, 2009 RLT completed a County Trail Vision Plan after former Board Member Brian Zweig asked RLT to sponsor this effort in cooperation with the County. Board Member Melissa Berry wrote the plan and John Munn stepped up to handle the administrative side of things (we got a Greenway grant to fund this work). Other Board members also contributed. The Plan identified 10 potential trail corridors, one of which was the Albany-Hudson Electric Trail. After doing a feasibility study and trying without success to move this trail forward, it was ordained to be part of the Empire State Trail and became a reality a couple of years ago. The creation of this trail may not have happened without the Trail Vision Plan and other trail ideas are also becoming a reality as a result of this plan
Written March 2024