The Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT) has purchased a 35-acre parcel in the Willseyville Valley in the town of Caroline, Tompkins County. The property sits directly across Coddington Road from the group’s Eberhard Nature Preserve and the Danby State Forest, making it a crucial link in the expanding Emerald Necklace conservation corridor.
The parcel includes 1,460 feet of frontage on Willseyville Creek and 23 acres of wetlands, part of the White Church-Willseyville Swamp—a designated Unique Natural Area that feeds into Catatonk Creek, a classified trout stream. The land lies within a broader landscape that includes Cornell Botanic Gardens’ Natural Areas and the 5,318-acre Shindagin Hollow State Forest, and is bordered by the Finger Lakes Trail.
The Land Trust plans to transfer the property to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) as an addition to Danby State Forest, further expanding recreational access and protecting water quality and wildlife habitat. To date, the organization has added nearly 200 acres to Danby State Forest through similar projects.
The Emerald Necklace, a long-term conservation vision, seeks to connect 50,000 acres of protected land in a greenbelt around Ithaca. The corridor features 78 miles of the Finger Lakes Trail, National Audubon-designated Important Bird Areas, state parks and forests, Land Trust preserves, and dozens of county-designated Unique Natural Areas.
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