ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — The state Department of Environmental Conservation has acquired 87 acres of land in the Tompkins County town of Dryden, connecting two existing state forests. DEC Commissioner Joe Martens says the project was a priority in the state's Open Space Plan. It extends the so-called Emerald Necklace of protected lands around Ithaca. The state worked with the Finger Lakes Land Trust to make the acquisition with $192,400 from the Environmental Protection Fund. The land will continue to be managed as a working forest providing forest products, watershed protection and wildlife habitat.