Finger Lakes Critical Easement from an Interesting Landowner

Jean Pitt (photo by Mary Coffin)

based on an article in the Finger Lakes Trail News, Summer 2009, by Mary Coffin

A small, but critical, segment of the Finger Lakes / North Country Trail is now permanently protected through an easement granted by Mrs. Jean Pitt of Delphi Falls, New York.

The easement allows passage of the trail across 2/3 of a mile which connects the Onondaga Branch of the Finger Lakes Trail to the Highland Forest County Park. From Highland Forest, the North Country Trail proceeds to the east.

Mrs. Pitt (nee Grimes) has emerged as one of the more colorful landowners along the trail. Her father was a son of slaves, and he was the first African-American to purchase land in the town of Pompey. The Grimes family became prosperous farmers, despite the difficulties facing black families in the early 20th century. Using information from Cornell University publications the family raised high-quality produce and eggs, often purchased by Syracuse University.

The land of her childhood memories is important to Jean. She recalls wildflowers and berry picking. She mentioned a year where pockets of late snow allowed the family to make ice cream to eat with their berries.

Jean went on to Syracuse University, and then to Case Western for graduate studies. She had a forty-year career as Director of Social Services at the VA hospital in Syracuse.

Generally speaking, the Finger Lakes Trail has led the way in teaching the North Country Trail folks how to build relationships with landowners. Hikers can undo those relationships quickly when they ignore landowner requests, such as "no camping," "no passage during hunting season," etc. Good trail courtesy will help ensure that the trail will be there for hikers far into the future. In many cases, the trail is allowed across private property only by a handshake agreement. One disrespectful hiker can sour a landowner for a long time.

We all thank people like Jean Pitt who value trails and are willing to enter into a legal arrangement to preserve connections for hikers.

Finger Lakes Trail

Patching Trail Together a Few Feet at a Time

easement grantor David Peterson holds a basket of picnic goodies given to him as a "thank you." (photo by Lynda Rummel)

based on an article in the Finger Lakes Trail News, Spring 2009

The North Country Trail has picked all the low-hanging fruit. This is how our trail building status is sometimes described. Most of the trail that can be built on public land has been completed or, at least, routed. The remainder of the route will have to be negotiated, small stretch by small stretch, with landowners.

The Finger Lakes Trail in New York has been teaching us how to work with landowners. A great deal of that trail (which is concurrent with the NCT for over 300 miles) passes off road by the generosity of landowners, often with handshake agreements. But, those agreements need to be made more legally binding to protect both parties. Easements are a good way to accomplish this.

The Finger Lakes Trail Conference (FLTC) has just announced three new easements on what is known as the Art Kopp section. Kopp was the former head of the Finger Lakes Chapter of the Adriondack Mountain Club. The trail between South Bradford and Watkins Glen is named for him.

The three new easements total about 1800 feet of trail, yet those few feet are critical to a continuous off-road route.

• Stephen and Kathryn Trechter, owners of Sugar Hill Farm, granted an easement of 800 feet that lie between two sections of South Bradford State Forest.
• Shirley and Peter Koseba have allowed passage from the hamlet of South Bradford to the old Moss Hill Road
• David and Paulette Peterson provided for continuation of that route with an easement from old Moss Hill Road to the state forest boundary.

Trail leaders work hard to build good relationships with landowners. Hikers need to take responsibility to observe restrictions which landowners have requested. By such means the trail will be completed.