Perfect Title, Practically Impossible: NY’s Land Acquisition Policy Stymies Conservation
NORTH HUDSON — The Frontier Town Campground, Equestrian and Day Use Area in the town of North Hudson hasn’t quite become “the gateway to the Adirondacks” that state and local officials envisioned when it opened in 2018. Progress on fully redeveloping the area has been stalled by long-standing title issues, with one problem dating back over 120 years.
Since 2017, the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has been working to purchase a 300-acre conservation easement on the property, located near the former Frontier Town theme park. While the state has built a campground and trails, plans for a visitor center and interactive exhibits have been put on hold.
The state attorney general’s office requires a perfect title – a comprehensive collection of legal documents outlining property ownership – and refuses to use title insurance to cover potential ownership disputes. This policy has created significant hurdles.
Town Attorney John Silvestri found himself in the difficult position of contacting 19 heirs of a frontier-era landowner, just in case the town’s ownership was contested. The town of 250 residents has already spent about $50,000 on the matter, with the potential for even higher costs depending on the outcome of ongoing litigation.
It’s “practically impossible” to have a perfect title, representatives of the New York State Land Title Association said.
This state policy extends beyond North Hudson, impacting land trust organizations across New York. These organizations hold over 100,000 acres of land, valued at over $150 million, for the state. They attribute the backlog to the state’s title policy.
Instead of relying on title insurance, which is standard in most real estate transactions, the state conducts extensive title searches going back a century or more. Land trust organizations report that these searches take a great deal of time, preventing them from purchasing and conserving new land. This also hinders the state’s goal of conserving 30% of its lands and waters by 2030, with just five years remaining to protect around 3 million more acres.
Connie Prickett, communications director of the Adirondack Land Trust, stated that title insurance is “a low-risk way for New York to expedite cooperative land protection projects.”
In a potential positive development, Governor Kathy Hochul hinted at a possible policy change in her annual agenda. Stakeholders are awaiting details.
Silvestri expressed his frustration, stating, “I am tickled pink that somebody finally woke up and realized what a terrible, expensive and wasteful policy…this is.” He added that any changes won’t help North Hudson in the current situation. “The cat’s out of the bag,” he said.
Frontier Town’s Title Troubles
In October 2018, the groundbreaking for the Frontier Town Campground was celebrated by DEC and town leaders. This was envisioned as a $32 million gateway project. The campground opened in 2019. The campground is close to the Boreas Ponds Tract.
For several years, North Hudson had an agreement with the DEC for use of the property. The state spent over $20 million on the campground and day use area. They spent another $260,000 on improvements in May 2021. But when the DEC began examining title records to finalize a conservation easement, they discovered an issue on 25 acres, along with a foreclosure case from 1901 involving 204 acres.
The foreclosure involved Abel Skiff, who purchased the land in the late 1800s. His heirs retained a three-eighths interest in the property, while the mortgage holder foreclosed on the remaining portion. Despite the minimal risk of the heirs contesting the ownership, according to Silvestri, the attorney general’s office requested that he address the problem.
The town hired a private investigator and genealogist to research Skiff’s family tree and has contacted 19 heirs. The town has filed a quiet title lawsuit to have the Essex County Supreme Court rule that their possession of the land over the past decade nullifies any potential ownership claims by the heirs.
Silvestri expressed astonishment that the state invested in the campground before resolving the title issues. The land, without improvements, would have been worth far less if the court ruled in the heirs’ favor, he said.
Broader Impact
North Hudson has become a clear example of the state’s land acquisition challenges, with New York being the only state that does not accept title insurance for state land conservation.
Catherine Canino, president of the New York State Land Title Association, called the state’s pursuit of a perfect title “practically impossible”.
“Governments are wasting time and money trying to fix title issues such as those facing Frontier Town,” she said. “But if they had title insurance, the burden would have been on the title company to provide clear title.”
The Adirondack Land Trust says that the use of title insurance would benefit their efforts as well. Prickett said the added work from the policy takes longer and slows down state land acquisitions.
Land trust organizations also noted a lack of staffing within the DEC and the AG’s office, which slows down the lengthy process.
The Adirondack Land Trust is currently managing six properties, approximately 300 acres, for transfer to the state Forest Preserve. Prickett stated that 25 acres were donated to the land trust and will be donated to the state; for the remaining parcels, the land trust paid a cumulative $485,000. Other organizations are facing delays as well.
Kathy Moser, chief conservation officer at the Open Space Institute, said the lack of title insurance is impacting her organization too. The Adirondack Mountain Club is still waiting on funds from a 2021 Environmental Protection Fund grant, due to conservation easement hold-ups.
As of last year, the Finger Lakes Land Trust was still holding 21 properties for the state. The slow pace of state land acquisition is raising concerns about whether the state will meet its goal of protecting 30% of its lands and waters by 2030.
Sean Mahar, interim DEC commissioner, told lawmakers that the state had protected about 20% so far.
Potential Solutions
Under a section called “Make Open Space Accessible for All,” the Hochul administration recognized “the need for streamlined processes” for land conservation, suggesting the allowance “the use of title insurance to expedite land acquisitions, granting the Department of Environmental Conservation the authority to independently acquire conservation easements, and reducing the financial hurdles faced by nonprofit organizations in their land conservation efforts.”
However, when Hochul released her proposed $252 billion executive budget, there was no mention of title insurance.
OSI, the Adirondack Mountain Club, the New York chapter of The Nature Conservancy, and others are asking lawmakers to include title insurance in the state’s budget.
“We are in active conversations with the Office of the Attorney General right now regarding that,” Mahar said. “If we are unable to reach some agreement and consensus … we will be coming back to you to discuss additional legislation that may be necessary.”
