Working with a generous landowner, Virginia Hunter, 7 Lakes Alliance created our first conservation easement in the North Pond Watershed and our largest in Mercer at 205 acres.
This easement will allow public access for education and recreation. Hiking trails may be developed in the future. This property has valuable riparian habitat, including 46 acres of wetlands and 2.5 miles of streams. It also provides 44 acres of critical Inland Waterfowl & Wading Bird Habitat and considerable deer wintering habitat.
By creating this easement, 7 Lakes Alliance protects a major tributary to North Pond, Pattee Brook. The easement protects 44 acres of important Inland Waterfowl and Wading bird habitat. This property contains 158 acres of working forest and is now under a Forest Management Plan. Working with generous landowners to create conservation easements, we protect natural resources like forests, waterbodies, and habitat for wildlife.
“I had the great good fortune to grow up on a working farm in Mercer. In addition to the fun of watching cows being milked, eggs being collected, pigs being fed, there was the bounty of a large vegetable garden to enjoy plus wild raspberries and several apple varieties, not to mention the infamous choke cherries.
Access to North Pond provided innumerable hours of swimming, boating, fishing and waterskiing.
I am grateful that a local Land Trust was there when the time came to preserve my parents’ property. As my father told me, 'Hold on to the land. They’re not making any more of it.'" - Virgina Hunter
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