An important habitat for fish and wildlife will remain pristine for years to come, thanks

to the donation of 14 acres of wetlands to the Town of West Seneca.

The gift &#8212 from the estate of Robert and Bernadette Jacobs &#8212 was celebrated by

town officials, Jacobs family members, environmentalists and researchers from the University

at Buffalo on Tuesday during an event sponsored by the West Seneca Commission for the

Conservation of the Environment, at the Burchfield Nature & Art Center on Union Road.

&#8220They donated it specifically for conservation purposes,&#8221 said Evelyn A. Hicks, a

member of the West Seneca Commission for the Conservation of the Environment.

The deed to the property contains a conservation easement ensuring that the site will be

protected in perpetuity for nature studies and the conservation of its natural habitat, said

Margaret Wooster of Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, which is working with the town on a

stewardship plan.

The site also will serve as a natural laboratory for scientific inquiry into how such sites

along the heavily industrial Buffalo River watershed can be made ecologically healthy and self-

sustaining. Eventually, it will serve as a limited-access nature preserve.

&#8220The property is not open to the public because there is no access and there are no

trails. We&#8217re working on a restoration plan for the property,&#8221 Wooster said.

&#8220Eventually, the access issue will be figured out over the next five to 10 years.&#8221

Also assisting with the plan are UB graduate students from several disciplines, including

biology, economics, culture and philosophy, said David M. Blersch, a research scientist and

coordinator of UB&#8217s Ecosystem Restoration through Interdisciplinary Exchange program, or

ERIE.

Blersch said the students are excited about the long-term research aspects of the habitat,

as fewer and fewer such sites remain.

&#8220In 1978, a [West Seneca] land-use study conducted by the commission at that time

found that there were 5,800 acres of undeveloped land and 590 acres of active farmland,&#8221

Hicks said.

&#8220The most recent [Global Information System] study conducted by Buffalo Niagara

Riverkeeper says there&#8217s only 1,100 acres of floodplain left.&#8221

Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper has received a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife

Foundation to preserve land in the creek corridors.