Preservation: Protecting IMPORTANT ECOSYSTEMS

As one of few large landowners in the southern Finger Lakes Emerald Necklace Region, Ithaca College plays an important role in land conservation, alongside the New York State Parks system, the U.S. Forest Service, the Finger Lakes Land Trust, and Cornell University.

The ecosystems of ICNL are mostly forests, and some have large trees more than 200 years old. There is one perennial stream (Van Buskirk Creek), several ephemeral streams, two constructed wetlands, and successional shrublands and meadows at various stages of regrowth. These ecosystems support diverse communities of flora and fauna, with some species and assemblages recognized as rare within the New York State or the Finger Lakes Region. Two conservation easements protect 85 acres in perpetuity.