“The response from the community has been overwhelmingly supportive. Preserving this property in perpetuity provides another layer of protection to our pristine wetlands and will counter fragmentation and sensitive habitat loss,” said Hartland Land Trust President Fred Jones about the land trust's newest acquisition. In December 2020, Hartland Land Trust (HLT) closed on a 52-acre parcel purchased with funds awarded through the Audubon CT Wetland In Lieu Fee (ILF) Program. The property contains extensive forest wetlands and is bisected by a perennial watercourse that drains into the Upper Farmington National Wild & Scenic River. Together with a bordering 65-acre HLT parcel, the land now forms The Mill District Nature Preserve...

The North Haven Land Trust has developed a new walking trail on their Clintonville Road property. Historically used to raise agricultural crops, Mother Nature has begun to reclaim the land back to forest. A variety of early succession trees are now growing including oaks, cherry, pine, mulberry, willow, and maple. Located near the Clintonville Elementary School, this is the first trail that the North Haven Land Trust has installed among their 20 conserved properties. The project includes a small paved parking area and a single entry that connects with three loops that wind through the 4-acre property...

The town of Cheshire recently acquired 45-acres with over 3200 feet of frontage on the Mill River. The Regional Water Authority and Cheshire Land Trust (CLT) contributed to the acquisition and jointly hold a conservation easement on the property. The land provides an essential link to an important greenbelt corridor in town. Additional funds for the purchase came from the Audubon CT Wetland In Lieu Fee Program. "Acquiring the property for open space will help to protect the Mill River and promote efforts to improve the water quality of this section of the river. We are pleased and exceedingly grateful to all of those who made the acquisition possible,” said CLT President Joy VanderLek...

Connecticut Sea Grant is collaborating with Avalonia Land Conservancy on a project at Hoffman Evergreen Preserve, in Stonington, to identify strategies to create healthier, climate-resilient forests. Funding to support this project was provided by the Long Island Sound Futures Fund. In an article for UConn, Sea Grant communications coordinator Judy Benson writes, "Battered by coastal storms and infestations of wooly adelgids, gypsy moth, winter moth and emerald ash borer, sections of the 200-acre Hoffman Evergreen Preserve will now serve as a living lab and demonstration site for how land managers can help forests adapt to climate change..."

#LoveYourCTLandTrust—for giving us a happier today and hope for a better tomorrow.

Photo of Mill District Nature Preserve courtesy of Hartland Land Trust ; Photo of new CLT's new acquisition with Sleeping Giant in the background courtesy of Cheshire Land Trust; Photo of Hoffman Evergreen Preserve courtesy of Avalonia Land Conservancy; Amy, Josie & Harriet pause for a selfie while enjoying the land together.