Dorene Warner

Are you looking to make a difference and have fun with friends and family? Volunteering is a great way to do that and there are a lot of ways you can jump right in. 

Photographs. We are always looking for photographs for social media, our publications, and sharing with others. Let us know if you’d like to share photos of people on trails, wildlife, farms, water, and urban conservation efforts.

Trails. You can volunteer to help create new trails, or maintain existing ones, for as little as a few hours a year or on a monthly basis. No experience is needed. For example, you can help us continue building our Traverse Trail in the heart of the Tug Hill Core Forest.

If you’d like to volunteer, there’s a place for you. You can spend a couple of hours, or all day, depending on your interest and availability. From helping out in our office, providing support at events, or assisting with trails and outreach, there are many ways to get involved. Often, there is an opportunity to include friends and family as well.

Contact Lin Gibbs via email at [email protected] or call our office at 315-779-8240 to explore what feels right for you. You can watch our Facebook and Instagram pages for announcements too.

Have you considered how you might leave a lasting impact for generations to come? 

Leaving a gift of any amount to the Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust is a terrific way to make a legacy gift. It’s easy to do and signifies that you care about this beloved region.

Your generosity and compassion will ensure that kids and families can develop a love of Tug Hill like you do. Because of you, cherished lands and waters will be conserved and cared for. Let us know if you’ve included us in your will so we can extend our appreciation to you.

A special thank you to:
Carol Beck
Harold Boyce
Leiter & Ricky Doolittle
John & Marcia Gosier
Gordon Hayes, Jr.
Steve & Madeline Hunter
Bob & Carol Keller
Russ & Rebecca Myer

Conserving land has been a life-long goal for people like Richard Hughes, a Utica area landowner and farmer. “Our family has been here for almost 80 years, and we want to make sure that others can enjoy this beautiful area, like we have.”

Richard is not alone. Local enthusiasm is growing, with farmers asking for our assistance to conserve their land, community members providing funding for local trails, and families offering their land to host nature programs.

John Souva, Land Protection/Education and Outreach Manager for the southern region of Tug Hill has been listening to ideas on how our land trust can support additional land conservation and meet a growing desire for expanded community programs.

“I’ve been talking with local families who are very interested in conserving their farms and woodlands. Many have been here for generations, others are newer to the area,” explained John.

“There’s a lot of farmland at risk around the Utica area,” remarked John. “New farmers, and younger farmers, are looking to find ways to purchase farmland at an affordable price — and land conservation can help.”

Providing more opportunities to connect to nature

In the short time that John has been on staff, he has uncovered a lot of interest in providing safe and welcoming access to nature for everyone, including those in urban, rural, and suburban areas in the southern Tug Hill region.

One example was a recent partnership with the nonprofit organization, Midtown Utica Community Center (MUCC) at Camp Nazareth in Woodgate, NY.

MUCC (midtownutica.org) is an inclusive and multicultural community center in Utica, NY. The organization’s programming is designed to enhance the safety, health, and educational opportunities of their diverse community.

In addition to providing space for cultural and wellness events, MUCC provides programs for community members to adapt to their environment, heal from trauma, and chart their individual paths to success.

As a result of this partnership, more than 60 urban youth who otherwise might not have been able to experience swimming, canoeing, or fishing experienced nature first-hand.

“For many of these kids, it was a time when they could share their joy of being outside. It’s the sort of gift that makes a difference for years to come,” explains Kay Klo, Executive Director of MUCC.

In the coming year, we will be working with MUCC and several other community groups to offer complementary programs and assist in conserving locally important lands.

These community and conservation partnerships are made possible in part thanks to a three-year grant from the Land Trust Alliance’s New York Conservation Partnership Program, The Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties, and ongoing generous donations from community members.

Kathy Smith, a long-time resident in the southern Tug Hill region, recently commented, “I can’t tell you how exciting it is to have the Land Trust working with us. It has been an interest for many years. Now we can really get things done.”

 

People like you are the engine behind what makes conservation happen in Tug Hill, and this coming year it’s more important than ever.

Eight farms, two new public conservation areas, and hundreds of acres of wildlife habitat are waiting to be conserved. Not to mention all of the programs we will be offering that will benefit youth, landowners, and community members.

Join other donors who are making smart giving choices. Many of our supporters are choosing to donate stock or contributions from their IRA this year. Year-end charitable donations will have a big impact on our conservation success and potentially help you save on your taxes.

There’s so much opportunity to conserve the lands we all love. And because of you, 2023 could be an extraordinary year. Feel free to call Mark Pacilio, Executive Director, or email him at [email protected] if you have any questions.

You are helping to change that.

Your love of the land may seem natural to you, but it’s more at risk than ever before. That’s partly because children are now spending less time outdoors than the average prisoner. Sadly, the lure of technology is winning.

Thanks to community support, our programs are free, fun, and in nature. They’re a great way to inspire kids’ interests and passions in a way that connects them to the land and water, creating memories they will cherish.

Inspiring tales in the outdoors

Getting outside can sometimes be difficult, especially with youngsters who have high energy. We strive to offer programming that makes it easier. This past summer, we created story walks for youth that helped focus their energy, and encourage reading, family fun, and outdoor learning.

So when the North Country Prenatal/Perinatal Council reached out to us, we partnered with them and the Lowville Free Library to install “The Listening Walk” by Paul Showers as a story walk at the Maple Ridge Center. At the kick-off celebration, the first 100 youth to complete the trail received a free book and ice cream cone.

Additionally, we hosted six weeks of storywalks at the Joseph A. Blake Wildlife Sanctuary in Rutland, installed by the Carthage Free Library as part of their summer reading program.

Programs and events for friends and families

When you have an afternoon and want to go on a paddle or snowshoe hike, where do you turn? Visit our website to check out a variety of experiences.

In the coming year we will be partnering with community groups from Utica to Watertown to bring a variety of nature-based programs for people of ages.

Want to get breaking news? Sign up for our eNews and social media on our website for program updates.

If you get restless during Tug Hill’s winter season, we have a challenge for you!

Come out with us, or go out on your own this winter, to explore the region on snowshoes, skis, sledding tubes, and more.

We’re putting together a list of great places to have fun — many are included in the Tug Hill Recreation Guide that you can find on our website’s Explore section. We’ll also include some additional places throughout the region.

There’s a lot to do, no matter your age or experience.

If you submit a list of eight or more different experiences you’ve enjoyed with related photos using the Winter Fun Challenge form on our website, you can receive a patch or decal that signifies you are a Tug Hill winter winner.

I am very pleased to join the team at the Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust as the new Executive Director. This region has meant a lot to me over the years, as I have lived on the edge of these treasured lands for most of my life.

I confess that as a child growing up near Utica, I took the region for granted — it was not covered in our geography class in school, nor did anyone talk about the Tug Hill region, back in the 1970s.

Yet we spent countless days going into the Tug Hill to swim, camp, and hike. My relatives owned farms in the southern region and we looked forward to visiting those areas in the summer, in awe of the vast fields we drove past en route to their farmsteads.

Soon after I graduated from college, I moved away from upstate New York — from these beloved lands — but somehow, I knew I would be returning.

And I did in the late 1990s, moving to the North Country, this time on the northern edge of the Tug Hill region. By then Tug Hill had begun to receive national notoriety on the Weather Channel for its tremendous snowfalls.

A life-long love of the region

Living in an area affected by lake effect snow was a new experience and I have since grown accustomed to the Tug Hill winters. As a weather buff, the sight of modulating snow bands in the sky and the prospect of heavy snow is rather exciting to me. It is all part of the glorious experience of living in this great region.

These lands are part of who I am. They are part of my heritage. Like many of you, I care deeply about the land and the need to protect it. Leading the Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust will be my way of seeing to it that this region continues to be cherished. Tug Hill feeds us, allows us to enjoy the great outdoors — the water and wilderness — and shapes our lives in so many other ways.

Your support and engagement ensure that we can continue to inspire the next generation to care about Tug Hill, as you do. Together we can foster a desire to care for and conserve the lands that matter locally, as well as throughout the region.

As a locally supported conservation organization, we are able to assist local families to conserve their lands and establish new public conservation areas for all to enjoy because of you.

There’s so much opportunity ahead. Already in the short time I’ve been here, there are several new land conservation projects and community programs waiting for us to take action in the coming year.

I’m proud to be a part of this important organization and this wonderful community. I look forward to meeting you, the people of the Tug Hill region.

Mark Pacilio
Executive Director