Three property owners join Drum buffer program

FORT DRUM — It has been two years since Victor R. and Pamela J. Delles started looking into alternative ways to protect their farm from developers. And Wednesday marked the official start of that solution with the Army Compatible Use Buffer program.

"I feel pretty good about it and I'm glad to see it won't end up in development," said Mr. Delles, owner of Delles Farm in Philadelphia. "It'll always be green and it will be a place for my grandchildren and it won't get squeezed out by developers."

Mr. Delles and two other property owners, Gary R. Schuler and Michael J. Kerry, are the first three participants in the buffer program that was established to protect the Fort Drum perimeter from encroachment.

"This is a sustainability effort where we wanted to look to the future of the Army and see what we needed to do today so our young men and women will have the opportunity to do what they need to do in 20 or 30 years," said Addison D. Davis IV, the deputy assistant secretary of the Army for environment, safety and occupational health. "We are supporting our ability to continue that mission."

The property owners have sold the development rights to their land — totaling 845 acres — to the Army through a land trust and in return they get to keep the property.

"It gives them the opportunity to participate in the real estate market but keep their land," said Betty J. Jones, the liaison for the buffer program and employee with the Plans, Analysis and Integration Office on Fort Drum.

The signing ceremony took place on a training range that overlooks the back side of the Delles property on Gardnerville Road. Mr. Delles said his property was considered a priority because it was in a flight path for Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield and borders ranges used for training.

The Delles, Schuler and Kerry properties are close to Route 11 and are considered important because of pressure to develop along the road near the base. Properties surrounding Lake Bonaparte, the villages of Deferiet and Black River and the northwest corner of the training ranges also are considered vital areas to protect.

The program began in spring 2008 when Mrs. Jones started the search for interested property owners. In the past year, the Fort Drum program has received $2.4 million in federal financing to help pay for the development rights. The program is at 28 other military installations and 95,000 acres have been brought into the program.

Mrs. Jones said that property is worth from $500 to $8,000 an acre, depending on the location. She would not say how much each of the first three property owners was paid.

The Army worked with Ducks Unlimited, an international wetlands conservation organization based in Memphis, Tenn., to purchase the property rights from the landowners.

The partnership between the Army, property owners and conservation organization was stressed as the most valuable thing to come out of the program.

"What's really neat about this is that it's in the interest of all," said Col. Kenneth H. Riddle, the garrison commander. "It's about land conservation, military maneuvers and being a good neighbor."