The Open Space Institute/Open Space Conservancy worked with the town of Gardiner in Ulster County to complete a farmland preservation project that will allow Marty and Thelma Kiernan to continue farming while permanently protecting their 140-acre farm at the base of the Shawangunk Ridge.
“The town of Gardiner and the Wallkill Valley are blessed with scenic lands that are some of the most productive farmland in New York state,” said Kim Elliman, CEO of the Open Space Institute. “Thanks to the vision of the Kiernan family and residents of the town who donated to this project, views from Brunswick Road and from the Shawangunk Ridge will be protected in perpetuity, and an important beef farm will expand its operations.”
In early 2010, the U.S. Department of Agriculture”™s Natural Resources Conservation Service awarded OSI a Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program grant that will cover approximately 50 percent of the purchase price for the conservation easement. Gardiner open-space advocates initiated a private fundraising campaign to provide further financial support.
“Gardiner”™s citizens really stepped up to support this effort,” said town Supervisor Joe Katz. “Our Open Space Commission under the leadership of the late Greg Finger was the spark that set our participation in motion. The town board made a commitment to raise $50,000 and under the leadership of Rich Koenig and Warren Wiegand, this goal was met. The town is very proud to be a part of this great effort to save our farmland.”
The easement on the Kiernan farm prohibits subdivision and limits future development while allowing farming to continue on the land, which has been in continuous agricultural production since it was part of the larger Gertrude Bruyn patent of 1682. Marty and Thelma Kiernan”™s 65-cow grass-fed beef operation is one of the several farms that locals have dubbed the “Gardiner Beef Belt,” a critical mass of 1,300 acres of beef farming along County Route 7. Presently, the Kiernans are fixtures at the New Paltz, Ossining and Westchester farmers”™ markets.
