Teatown Lake Reservation - Land Stewardship

Land Stewardship

Teatown Lake Reservation serves as an 834-acre (3.38 km2) oasis for many of the plants and animals that inhabit the Hudson Hills and Highlands. Teatown’s recently expanded its Environmental Stewardship Program to manage the flora and fauna living in the preserve for the benefit of nature conservation and regional ecological health. What began as a gift of 190 acres (0.77 km2) in 1963 has quadrupled in size including many different habitats, from aquatic and wetland locations to upland woods and meadows.

The foundation of Teatown's Stewardship Program is built on science and environmental management. Staff, collaborating scientists, students, and volunteers work together to document, monitor, and study the Reservation’s habitats, plants, and animals and to assess their ecological health and conservation status.

Based on these data, Teatown staff is developing new management activities to better protect the ecological communities and enhance Teatown’s contribution to local nature conservation. Long-term ecological monitoring using scientific methodologies will track the impact of the conservation efforts and allow for on-going adjustments and improvements. Scientists call this environmental stewardship process adaptive management.

Strengthening nature-friendly living through improved stewardship of private lands will be a key to ensuring regional sustainability. Hence, Teatown hopes to develop models that other land holders in the 4 counties of Hudson Hills and Highland may learn from and follow.