Grand Lake Reserve conservation easement

Indian River Lakes Conservancy (IRLC) granted a forever-wild conservation easement on its Grand Lake Reserve to Northeast Wilderness Trust, ensuring that this forest in the Algonquin to Adirondacks (A2A) wildlife corridor will remain a wild anchor for both wildlife and people. The Reserve is located in the heart of the geological formation called the Frontenac Arch—a ridge of Precambrian metamorphic marble, gneiss, and granite that serves as the bridge-like lynchpin connecting the A2A between Canada and the Adirondacks.

Boasting rugged and varied topography and over five miles of lakeshore frontage on Butterfield and Grass lakes, the Reserve is a haven for biodiversity emblematic of the St. Lawrence Valley. The stirring calls of the Common Loon can be heard echoing across both lakes on the Reserve. Other wild denizens such as the uncommon stinkpot turtle and elfin skimmer—the smallest dragonfly in North America—find refuge here, too.

Grand Lake Reserve was established in 2003 with a generous land gift and has expanded over time thanks to the hard work of IRLC. Northeast Wilderness Trust is pleased to support the next phase of this storied landscape by enshrining its forever-wild status. Grand Lake Reserve marks the first conservation easement held by the Wilderness Trust within the A2A.

The Wildlands Partnership offers partner land trusts funding to protect land as forever-wild. Since its inception in 2020, the initiative has protected 8,954 acres.

Theresa, New York

1,072 acres

85 species of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies)

2.5 mile island hike accessible only by boat