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The Land Conservancy Announces Plan to Save Chautauqua County Forest

The Western New York Land Conservancy has announced its next big effort to preserve WNY’s forested lands. Now, it has set its sights on a 223-acre property Chautauqua County Forest, adjacent to the College Lodge Forest near Fredonia.

To that end, the organization is currently assembling the Friends of the Floating Fen committee, which will orchestrate funding efforts. The group is named after a bog-like area within the unique wetland, which is home to seas of blue flag iris, carnivorous sundews, and a trove of rare plants. Anyone interested in joining the committee is encouraged to reach out to the Land Conservancy.

The goal is to raise $925,000 by December 31, 2023.

Once the land is protected, the Floating Fen will join the College Lodge Forest as a nature preserve, combining to form nearly 400-acres of protected land.

Photo by Erik Danielson

Along with the critical bog-like area, the Chautauqua County Forest is home to porcupines, beavers, fishers, great flocks of migratory songbirds, and other spectacular wildlife. 

Ultimately, once the funding effort is successful, Chautauqua County Forest will join the College Lodge Forest as a nature preserve, to form nearly 400-acres of protected land. It was back in May of 2022 that College Lodge Forest was inducted into Old-Growth Forest Network – a national network spanning the United States that helps to protect mature, publicly accessible, and native forests.

The Land Conservancy will then maintain the forest and wetland, and it will open a walking trail so visitors can enjoy the site’s nature. 

The significant span of forested land will one day become part of the Land Conservancy’s Western New York Wildway – an ambitious plan to protect, connect, and restore our region’s largest forests—from Northern Pennsylvania to the Adirondack Mountains and beyond. 

If you would like to donate to save the Floating Fen, you can donate online at wnylc.org/donate (select “Floating Fen” in the dropdown menu) or send a check made payable to “Western New York Land Conservancy” to P.O. Box 471, East Aurora, NY 14052. Please call or email if you have questions: (716) 687-1225 or info@wnylc.org. Learn more at wnylc.org.

The post <strong>The Land Conservancy Announces Plan to Save Chautauqua County Forest</strong> appeared first on Buffalo Rising.

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