The Manlius Greenspace Coalition is a community group
actively pursuing the protection and preservation of green space
in Manlius, NY and surrounding areas as a legacy for future generations.
What's Happening
- Calendar: Thursday, January 22: NYS Open Space Plan public hearing at the State Fairgrounds
- Read MGC's latest Newsletter
- Check out the video on YouTube of Three Falls Woods!
- We are helping fund the defense of the Covenant that protects Three Falls Woods in court.
Our Projects
Three Falls Woods
Three Falls Woods is the best example of karst topography and the Onondaga Escarpment in the Town of Manlius. It is an unprotected 175 acre woodland with three waterfalls, old growth trees, unique geology and ecology, much-loved trails, and historic lime kilns. The land is currently privately owned, threatened by development, but accessible to the public. The portion in the Village of Manlius is considered a Critical Environmental Area and the portion in the Town is protected by a covenant, although that is being disputed by the developer. A long-term goal of MGC is to facilitate the purchase and preservation of this land for its continued ecological and recreational value.
Onondaga Escarpment Nature Corridor
This wooded corridor stretches from Three Falls Woods in Manlius through White Lake and Ram’s Gulch to Clark Reservation State Park in Jamesville, and could be linked by a trail along Limestone Creek to Green Lakes State Park and the Old Erie Canal State Historic Park. Most of this land has been left undeveloped over time as a buffer area from the Jamesville Quarry, but could use additional protections. MGC nominated this nature corridor to the 2006 NYS Open Space Plan, and it was accepted on the supplemental list. MGC is currently working with the three municipalities through which it crosses (Village of Manlius, Town of Dewitt, and Town of Manlius) to designate the area a Critical Environmental Area. The Village of Manlius passed the designation on June 26, 2007, and discussions with the other municipalities are ongoing.
MOSAIC
The Manlius Open Space Assessment and Information Committee is a collaborative project between MGC and the Town of Manlius. Funded through a NYS Quality Communities grant, MOSAIC is working to create an Open Space Vision Map of the Town of Manlius.