SPAFFORD, N.Y. (WHCU) – A large piece of property in Onondaga County is now protected by the Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT).

The Ithaca-based group now has a conservation easement on 690 acres in the Town of Spafford at Jackson-Noel Farms. The farm is owned by Bill Jackson and Jeri Noel Jackson. They grow organic soil they sell locally and in Virginia, where they own an equestrian-related general store.  The land is in the Skaneateles Lake Watershed and is the largest project completed in that area since Bear Swamp State Forest was established.

FLLT has now conserved nearly 3,000 acres around Skaneateles Lake, which provides drinking water for 200,000 people. 

Credit: Matt Champlin