Farmland protection on CAC agenda

The town of North East has a good amount of agricultural land. That much is clear to those who have driven through the area and seen the rolling green acres. Now the goal is to protect and preserve as much of that land as is possible.

One way in which that is happening is through the efforts of the CAC — the Conservation Advisory Council. The CAC has been given the formidable task of creating a local farmland preservation program by the Town Board. To help meet that end, it now has in its sights a $25,000 grant from the state. That grant program, the Municipal Agricultural and Farmland Protection Plan Development, is being made available to municipalities throughout New York. It is being awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

In order to garner the funds, the CAC needs to be aggressive. It must act swiftly, and submit an application as soon as possible after as they are made available Sept. 26. To do so the council will likely send representatives to a workshop for applicants at the Cornell Cooperative Extension on Oct. 16.

What the CAC must first have in order to pursue its work, is a commitment from the town that it will help fund a minimum of 5 percent of the $25,000. The town really needs to make that promise. It did not go that far in its discussion with the CAC representatives who attended last Thursday’s Town Board business meeting. It did, however, give a nod to the Conservation Advisory Council to move forward with the grant application process. That’s something.

Let’s hope the Town Board will ultimately decide to make that monetary commitment, and soon. Given the timelines, the board will need to make a resolution to support the CAC’s grant application, with cash, by Oct. 4. It would be a shame if the town did not receive this grant, especially if the reason were because it did not act in time.

The farmland in North East is quite incredible. It should be preserved. The CAC is looking for the means to do that. The town needs to provide those means, just as the state is trying to do. Ideally all three entities will be able to work together to make farmland preservation a little easier. To miss out on an opportunity like this would be a real loss to the town, resulting in the possible loss of acres upon acres of pristine farmland that should be protected from development.

Let your local lawmakers know how you feel about this issue, for it’s an important one. North East residents, meanwhile, will likely keep to the adage that the grass is always greener, but on this side of the fence — which is how it should remain. This grant will help see to that, as will the continued work of the CAC.