College Lodge Forest, Fredonia
The Western New York Land Conservancy and the Friends of the College Lodge Forest have announced the Land Conservancy has officially purchased the College Lodge Forest in Fredonia.
The College Lodge Forest becomes the newest Land Conservancy preserve. It will remain open year-round as a publicly accessible nature sanctuary with miles of existing hiking, snowshoeing, and cross-country ski trails. The Faculty Student Association (FSA), a non-profit auxiliary of SUNY Fredonia from which the Land Conservancy purchased the forest, will continue to own the historic lodge and the 33 acres surrounding it.
At a ribbon cutting ceremony on May 27, the College Lodge Forest was formally inducted into the national Old-Growth Forest Network (OGFN).
During the past few years, the Land Conservancy and the Friends of the College Lodge Forest carried out an ambitious fundraising campaign to protect the property. Purchased in 1939 by SUNY Fredonia students, with their own funds, for the main objective of promoting health outdoors, the land has been a prized learning laboratory for thousands of teachers, researchers, students, and the entire community ever since. The FSA has owned the property and operated the lodge since 1969.
In addition to being a sanctuary for people, the College Lodge Forest is home to an incredible diversity of wildlife, a pristine wetland with carnivorous plants, old-growth trees, and unique native orchids. It is also part of a significant migratory bird corridor.
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