Mianus River Gorge and Westchester Land Trust to receive DEC grants.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced $1.8 million in grants to nonprofit land trusts around the state. Two of the organizations receiving Conservation Partnership Program grants are the Mianus River Gorge in Bedford and the Westchester Land Trust in Bedford Hills.

Including these grants, the Mid-Hudson region will receive grants totaling $480,550 from DEC.

Other Mid-Hudson recipients of the grants include the Delaware Highlands Conservancy, the Dutchess Land Conservancy, Mohonk Preserve, the Orange County Land Trust, Scenic Hudson, and the Wallkill Valley Land Trust. An additional 13 organizations in the Mid-Hudson Valley are also receiving grants from DEC.

Statewide, the grants will leverage an additional $2.25 million in private and local funding to support projects that will protect farmland, wildlife habitat and water quality; enhance public access for outdoor recreational opportunities; and conserve priority open space areas. These open space areas are important for community health, tourism and regional economic development, according to a statement announcing the grants.

The Land Trust Alliance administers the Conservation Partnership Program in coordination with DEC.

PHOTO: View of the Hudson River from Breakneck Ridge, Jeffrey Pang via commons.wikimedia.org.