What is the Kent Conservation Foundation?
Answering that question means providing a little background…
The Kent Conservation Advisory Committee (CAC)
In the Town of Kent, and in many towns across New York, volunteers serve on committees that advise the towns on conservation and environmental issues. They are known as Conservation Advisory Committees. In Kent, the seven residents appointed by the town to serve in that capacity are responsible for helping preserve, protect and promote the natural areas in our town so that everyone may enjoy them now and in the future.
Kent’s natural areas include—
- Thousands of acres of protected open space
- Miles of hiking trails, including sections of the Appalachian Trail and Highlands Trail
- Dozens of lakes, ponds, streams and bogs
- Ruins of several colonial homesteads on publicly-accessible land
- A number of impressive boulders known as glacial erratics
- Numerous stone chambers and endless stone walls on publicly-accessible land
- Two state parks, Fahnestock in the west and Wonder Lake in the east
The wealth of these recreational, historical and archeological treasures give Kent residents the opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of activities – hiking, fishing, kayaking, hunting, mountain
biking, picnicking, cross-country skiing, birdwatching and sketching.
To learn about CAC activities, programs and publications, please visit kentcac.info.
Where does the Kent Conservation Foundation (KCF) come in?
The Kent Conservation Foundation was founded by Kent residents who want to support preservation and restoration projects identified as priorities by the Kent Conservation Advisory Committee. These are projects that cannot be funded by town tax dollars because they are located in natural areas that are not owned by the town but by other entities—the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, for example.
The KCF, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, is led by a Board of Directors committed to securing funding for and responsibly managing CAC-identified projects. All KCF funds are used to support CAC projects.
And where do you come in?
To be successful, the Kent Conservation Foundation needs the support of the community. If preserving the natural areas in Kent is important to you, we hope you’ll consider donating to, becoming a member of the KCF or volunteering to help with our projects! Contact us, we’d love to hear from you.