How to resolve AdBlock issue? GALWAY — On June 12, the group Saratoga Preserving Land and Nature (PLAN) finalized a perpetual conservation easement to preserve the 59-acre Carpenter Farm in the Town of Galway.
Property owner Donald Carpenter is donating the easement in order to conserve the land for agriculture, forestry, wildlife habitat, water resource protection, scenic beauty and public recreation. The property is situated in a rural historic landscape with scenic charm.
Carpenter is a quick-witted farmer who has always envisioned his Galway land as a gentleman’s farm. His sense of humor shines through when he adds that the “gentleman” part is questionable. He added, “Conserving this land is about keeping something alive from a life that isn’t common anymore. It’s about connecting with community and keeping active and healthy.”
In a statement, Saratoga PLAN Executive Director Maria Trabka said: “The Carpenter farm makes a wonderful addition to protected lands in Galway. The property is actively farmed, buffers the Gloweegee Creek, a tributary to the Kayaderosseras Creek, and has the potential to become a section of the Long Path, a trail that links New Jersey with Schenectady, and eventually the Adirondacks.”
Trabka said the terrain is particularly beautiful and features wonderful wildflowers in season within the woodlands among limestone outcrops. She added, “Interest in land conservation has been growing in the Town of Galway, and discussions with a few other landowners are in progress.”
Transactional costs for the project were partially funded via a grant from the Dockstader Charitable Trust. Over the coming months, Saratoga PLAN will be raising funds for the Stewardship Fund to ensure the organization can uphold the terms of the conservation easement in perpetuity.
Nurtured by his family’s heritage and farming community, Carpenter’s childhood experiences ripened into a dream and vision. At heart, Carpenter is a farmer. It’s because of his heart and connection to the past that he purchased 59 acres in Galway. His passion became his way of life, filled with days working the fields and walking the woods. A life spent connecting with a place that brings serenity – a place that nurtures the mind and heart.
As a career surveyor, Carpenter knows land and the landscape of Saratoga County – a landscape that he has seen change dramatically over the years. For him, conserving his farm is so important; it’s about sustaining an exceptional way of life that is disappearing.
For more information, visit www.saratogaplan.org or call 518-587-5554.
