WNY Land Conservancy Working To Raise Funds To Preserve Bear Lake

The Western New York Land Conservancy is working to raise $900,000 to create a preserve at Bear Lake in the town of Stockton.

In December, the organization was awarded a $675,000 grant by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to acquire the property.

Once protected, the 311-acre Bear Lake Preserve will be a publicly accessible nature preserve maintained by the Land Conservancy. It will also include shoreline access to the State Department of Environmental Conservation water trail on the 114-acre lake, with connectivity to the existing public boat launch. Since 2010, the Bear Lake Association has successfully undertaken an all-natural biocontrol program in Bear Lake to reduce invasive weeds and improve water quality in Bear Lake.

Bear Lake Preserve is part of a complex of high-quality wetlands and forested lands. It’s connected to the permanently protected College Lodge Forest and Floating Fen, which is also owned by the Land Conservancy. It also connects to the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy’s recently acquired Looney property. Together, these interconnected forests represent a hugely significant, 900-acre swath of land in the Western New York Wildway. Multiple rare habitat types exist here and support a diversity of rare wildlife.

Land Conservancy Executive Director Marisa Riggi said, “The Bear Lake property is a rare opportunity to protect the entire southern shoreline of a remarkable inland lake. The Bear Lake Complex, which includes the Bear Lake property, College Lodge Forest, Floating Fen, and Looney property, comprises some of the most ecologically important lands in Chautauqua County and Western New York. Every visit underscores how important these lands are to the wildlife of our region. The diverse range of habitats here are home to some of the rarest plant and animal communities in our region, and we are thrilled to receive this generous support from the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) to help protect this amazing place.”