The agreement between the state government and the Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit that focuses on land protection, permanently protects Follensby Pond and will create both public recreational access and a freshwater research preserve.

“Securing more than 14,600 acres of critically important ecosystems is a win-win for conservation and for all New Yorkers,” said Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos in a statement. “Follensby Pond and its associated watershed will serve as a living laboratory for scientific study by leading public and private institutions. Together, the easements provide a unique combination of enhanced recreational and globally significant research opportunities, thereby providing a sound balance between conservation and recreation.”

The 14,645-acre parcel was first purchased by the Nature Conservancy in 2008. It includes 10 miles of shoreline on the Raquette River and the 958-acre Follensby Pond. The land will still be under the ownership of the Nature Conservancy after the sale closes.

According to Katharine Petronis, DEC deputy commissioner of natural resources, the sale will close “sometime in the spring.” The DEC will pay the Nature Conservancy $9.3 million along with unspecified transaction expenses.

The Follensby Pond easement. (Photo provided — The Nature Conservancy)

The money will come from the state’s Environmental Protection Fund, which received $400 million in last year’s budget.

The DEC and Nature Conservancy are also finalizing an interim recreational management plan. The final recreational plan will be created later with input from the public.

“I’m excited for the increased recreational opportunities that members of the community will have, and I think the unintended side effect is the component of the education that will go with it,” said Harrietstown town Supervisor Jordanna Mallach.

Tupper Lake town Supervisor Ricky Dattola said Tupper Lake “cannot be any happier” about the plan.

“This is perfect,” he said. “This is how government should work. We are so happy that everyone got together and got this going.”

The easement along the Raquette River includes the lower Moose Creek watershed and will provide public access to the river, which is part of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail and also a popular brook trout fishing location. The DEC said the easement will support non-motorized public recreation activities like camping, picnicking, hiking, hunting and fishing.

Follensby Pond is the site of transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson’s 1858 “Philosophers Camp,” a gathering of philosophers, artists and scientists that is often cited as one of the founding moments of the American conservation movement. It is also the location where DEC reintroduced the bald eagle to the Adirondacks in 1983. Under the agreement, a “one-of-a-kind” freshwater research preserve will be established at Follensby, according Seggos.

“(Follensby was) not picked by chance,” he said. “This is one of only nine remaining intact such bodies of water in the lower 48 states that still supports an old-growth population of fish.”

Follensby sits at an elevation of 1,545 feet and has a depth of 102 feet. These characteristics make the pond relatively cold and resilient to climate change and will give scientists the opportunity to research the effects of climate change on an “unexploited population” of aquatic life, according to a press release from Hochul’s office.

“Less than 1% of lakes are lucky enough to have the physics to protect the populations of fish and other organisms,” Peter McIntyre, professor of aquatic conservation at Cornell University, said of Follensby.

The “entire watershed” of Follensby will be preserved, Seggos said, and the state plans to establish a science and research consortium that includes the DEC, the Nature Conservancy, Cornell University, Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey. He added the pond, under this plan, would become a “global destination for research.”

The Nature Conservancy and consortium members intend to create a plan for managed access to Follensby together. According to Hochul’s press release, the plan will include opportunities for the public to participate in activities such as guided visits for educational, scientific and cultural purposes.

Peg Olsen, director of the Adirondack chapter of the Nature Conservancy, said that the group also intends to help restore Indigenous peoples’ access to their ancestral land.

“This is kind of the next phase of Follensby, to deepen those relationships,” she said.