SKANEATELES, NY (607NewsNow) – The Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT) is protecting more property in Skaneateles.

On July 9, the Ithaca-based conservation group announced a new 90-acre conservation easement at Eastmere Farms, adding to other conserved land in the area.

Conservation easements are voluntary legal agreements that limit future land use in perpetuity to protect the land’s conservation value. Lands subject to conservation easements remain privately owned and on local tax rolls.

Located along East Lake Road and Pork Street, the site is a mix of woodlands, wetlands, and agricultural fields just downstream from the Shotwell Brook Conservation Area, which FLLT protected in October 2024. The land contains over 7,000 feet of frontage along tributaries to Skaneateles Lake, which serves as a source of drinking water for thousands in Central New York.

“Completion of this project is vital to water quality within Shotwell Brook,” said FLLT President Andy Zepp. “And Shotwell is particularly important for drinking water since it enters the lake near the intake for the water supply for the City of Syracuse.”

Later this month, the Finger Lakes Land Trust will hold a meeting to discuss ecological restoration progress on the Shotwell property. It will be held on July 29 at Saint James Episcopal Church in Skaneateles.