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Westchester Land Trust Holds Rocky Hills Easement

NEW CASTLE, N.Y. -- The Westchester Land Trust recently announced that the conservation easement protecting the Henriette Suhr's 13-acre Rocky Hills property in Mount Kisco has been transferred to the trust by the Garden Conservancy.

New Castle Supervisor Rob Greenstein, left, reads a plaque in honor of Henriette Suhr in 2014.

New Castle Supervisor Rob Greenstein, left, reads a plaque in honor of Henriette Suhr in 2014.

Photo Credit: Tom Auchterlonie
The Westchester Land Trust has received the easement property protecting Henriette Suhr's 13-acre Rocky Hill property.

The Westchester Land Trust has received the easement property protecting Henriette Suhr's 13-acre Rocky Hill property.

Photo Credit: Westchester Land Trust

The transfer of the easement ensures that the conservation value of the property will continue to be protected in perpetuity, said Grace Buck, assistant development director of the trust.

"Rocky Hills is truly a spectacular property with significant open space resources," said trust President Lori Ensinger. "It improves the water quality by protecting against surface water runoff due to its location in the watershed of the Chappaqua Brook and Kisco River Basin, which is part of the drinking water supply of the Croton Reservoir. It is also an important habitat for numerous species of plants and animals native to the area."

The Westchester Land Trust is one of the leading conservation organizations working to protect and enhance the natural resources in Westchester and Putnam counties. Since its founding in 1998, the trust has protected more than 225 properties totaling more than 7,500 acres, added Buck.

In 2000, Henriette Suhr granted the easement to the Garden Conservancy to protect the property from development, intending it to pass to Westchester County upon her death; in 2013 Suhr, dissolved her agreement with the county and, working with the conservancy, explored new ways to protect her property as green space. Following her death earlier this year at the age of 98, the estate acted upon her wishes and with the conservancy to assign the easement to the trust.

The New York Times has called Rocky Hills "an 8-acre wonderland" of beautifully arranged flowers, shrubs and trees, for which Suhr received the Foundation of Landscape Studies' 2009 Place Marker Award. 

For more information about the trust, visit: westchesterlandtrust.org.

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