Gov. Malloy: Open Space Grants Will Preserve Nearly 950 Acres of Land Across Connecticut

$5.9 Million Awarded to Protect Open Space in 17 Communities; $500,000 also Awarded for Community Gardens in Four Municipalities

Governor Dannel P. Malloy recently announced grant awards of almost $6 million to support 17 communities in the purchase of 949 acres of open space, to assist three urban communities in enhancing or developing community gardens, and to allow a fourth urban community to establish a natural habitat for environmental education.

"Preserving the best of Connecticut's open space is critical to protecting our land, water, and wildlife and ensuring Connecticut maintains its natural beauty," Governor Malloy said. "Through these grants, we will increase the availability of open space for our residents to enjoy - whether they live in our state's beautiful cities, suburbs or rural areas."

The Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition program, administered by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), assists local governments and land trusts in purchasing open space using funding from the 2005 Community Investment Act and state bond funds. This grant program requires a conservation and public recreation easement that will ensure that the property is forever protected for public use and enjoyment.

With $5.9 million in state open space grants, the public will soon have 17 new places in which to enjoy all that nature has to offer. In addition, more than $500,000 in grant funds will assist in the creation or enhancement of eight community gardens in three urban areas and the creation of a conservation area with a focus on environmental education in a fourth community.

In total, over 665,000 of Connecticut's residents (or 19% of our population) will be within a ten minute drive of one of these resources. DEEP prioritizes funding for projects that meet the multiple goals of open space, such as protecting vital habitats, creating and enhancing recreational resources, and protecting our valuable water resources.

Open space protection projects help Connecticut achieve the goal to protect 673,210 acres of land by 2023. Connecticut has 500,242 acres designated as state or local open space lands, 74.3 percent of the goal. More than $125 million in state funding has been awarded to municipalities, nonprofit land conservation organizations, and water companies to assist in the purchase of 32,237 acres of land in 135 cities and towns.

"When we work with our partners to protect open space, we protect our natural resources, we enhance our communities and sense of place, and we have new locations where we can connect with the natural world," DEEP Commissioner Rob Klee said. "This funding is another step toward meeting our goal of preserving twenty-one percent of Connecticut's land, or 673,210 acres, as open space by the year 2023."

The Urban Green and Community Garden Initiative is available to targeted and/or distressed municipalities. These grants can be used to reclaim or enhance an existing open space or community garden. The benefits of this program is not only to open an area up to recreation and environmental education but to improve community health through various actions such as producing various vegetables and fruits and providing much needed green space in more highly developed areas.

Grants were awarded to the following communities:

LAND ACQUISITION/EASEMENTS

Town: Bloomfield
Project Title: Evans Property
Sponsor: Wintonbury Land Trust
Grant Award: $29,000
Total Acres: 22.64 acres
Description: The property lies on the east side of Tunxis Avenue about 1.25 miles from Bloomfield Center. Wash Brook, a tributary of the Park River, runs unimpeded down the center of this property. The property has differing intrinsic values such as drainage, woodland habitat, some small scale agricultural use, and as a connecting conduit for existing and planned passive recreation corridors.

Town: Burlington
Project Title: Taine Mountain Preserve II
Sponsor: Town of Burlington
Grant Award: $520,000
Total Acres: 105.3 acres
Description: This project is the acquisition of 105 acres adjacent to 210 acres of Taine Mountain Preserve (The Nature Conservancy & Burlington Land Trust). This project will directly link with Nassahegan State Forest and become part of a 7,000 acre unfragmented forest block. This undeveloped property has existing trails linking to abutting protected property. The eastern half of this property is within a Preliminary Aquifer Protection Area.

Town: Darien
Project Title: 41 Hecker Avenue
Sponsor: Town of Darien
Grant Award: $137,500
Total Acres: 1.245 acres
Description: This triangular shaped parcel has road frontage on Hecker Avenue. It is located within the floodplain of Stony Brook, which is the southern boundary of this property. The other side of Stony Brook is Spring Grove Cemetery Association, a fairly large cemetery. This parcel will provide a linkage to a trails system to be created between buildings that offer public services and a scenic view of Stony Brook.

Town: East Haddam
Project Title: Bloch Property
Sponsor: East Haddam Land Trust
Grant Award: $49,500
Total Acres: 12.5 acres
Description: The purpose of this acquisition is to begin a network of small acquisitions connecting the town's elementary and high schools, the Senior Center, senior housing, other municipal land and several subdivisions, thus linking the neighborhood together via a green way. The property contains multiple habitats including vernal pools and wetlands, an old Christmas tree plantation, used by owls and turkeys, and upland hardwood forest, used by coyote, deer, bob cat and turkey. As an added note, with this acquisition, an additional 18½ acres will be donated to add to the connectivity of other existing and planned open space parcels.

Town: Guilford
Project Title: Westwoods North
Sponsor: Guilford Land Conservation Trust
Grant Award: $85,150
Total Acres: 17.5 acres
Description: This 17 acre parcel is the center of a northern hardwood forest on the Connecticut shoreline known as Westwoods in Guilford. Property owners of this large 740 acre forest block include the State of Connecticut (Cockaponset State Forest), Guilford Land Trust and private property owners. Acquisition will assist in protecting a forested block on the Connecticut shoreline, aid in the enhancement of the wildlife habitat and protect the water quality flowing to Long Island Sound. Acquisition of this parcel will protect established public hiking trails that have been in existence for over 50 years.

Town: Hamden
Project Title: 100 Brooksvale Avenue Rear
Sponsor: Town of Hamden
Grant Award: $67,500
Total Acres: 15 acres
Description: This undeveloped wood lot will become a protected addition to the Town's Brookvale Park in the northwest corner of Town. This area is fairly protected by several entities including the State of Connecticut (Naugatuck State Forest), the Town and the Regional Water Authority. The parcel also contains important wetlands and is within an Aquifer Protection Area. The undeveloped area in northwest Hamden has previously received grants under this program.

Town: Hampton
Project Title: Edwards Preserve Addition
Sponsor: Town of Hampton
Grant Award: $22,750
Total Acres: 6.5 acres
Description: This is a 6.5 acre addition to the 50.8 acre Maurice and Rita Edwards Preserve that was purchased with a grant from this program in 2013. The parcel has over 1,000 feet of road frontage and is adjacent on three sides to the existing Edwards Preserve. Wooded with open fields, the parcel will provide opportunities for passive recreation and complement the James Goodwin State Forest.

Town: Hebron
Project Title: Millstream Road Open Space
Sponsor: Town of Hebron
Grant Award: $110,500
Total Acres: 19.5 acres
Description: With approximately 750 feet of frontage on Millstream Road, this parcel will provide additional public access to the well documented and supported Raymond Brook Greenway (the most significant river corridor in Hebron). The greenway has benefited from this grant program, and this parcel directly abuts Church Street Park (another part of the Greenway). Thirty percent of the Millstream parcel is open field, which is used for agricultural purposes along the road. The parcel then transitions to an undeveloped deciduous forest that contains over 1,000 feet of Raymond Brook, which is one of the few open space parcels that has access to the Brook.

Town: Kent
Project Title: West Aspetuck Scenic Wetlands
Sponsor: Kent Land Trust
Grant Award: $100,000
Total Acres: 25.327 acres
Description: The property consists of 25.327 acres with a wetland of 9 acres in size that is downstream from North Spectacle Lake and across the street from Camp Francis (253.1 acres). Surrounding this area is a gently sloping forested upland, forested inland wetland, shrub inland wetland, herbaceous inland wetland and freshwater aquatic habitat that plays host to critical wildlife habitat that may include endangered and threatened plant species. Kent Land Trust holds a limited conservation easement on this parcel. Acquisition will extinguish all development rights to this parcel.

Town: Ledyard
Project Title: Lamb Farm
Sponsor: Groton Open Space Association, Inc.
Grant Award: $614,250
Total Acres: 166.74 acres
Description: This property is in Ledyard and abuts land awarded a grant under this program in 2014. This parcel will become part of a continuous preserve over 600 acres in size. Part of the surficial drainage of the property flows toward Groton Utilities' Ledyard Reservoir, and the rest toward Haley Brook. The property has been farmed for over 300 years and it is the intent to continue this use. The vast and varied habitats found on this block include grass lands, old fields, early successional forest, oak-hemlock-hickory forest, Atlantic white cedar swamp, forested peat lands, vernal pools, and a 38-acre marsh/bog.

Town: Mansfield
Project Title: Meadowbrook Lane
Sponsor: Town of Mansfield
Grant Award: $243,750
Total Acres: 61 acres
Description: A mature woodland with two small knolls and several perched wetlands, this parcel is located on the north side of Puddin Land, has 390 feet of road frontage and will contribute to an existing greenway. This parcel connects to Mansfield's Sawmill Brook Preserve (a previous recipient of a grant from this program), together creating 223 protected acres. In addition, the property contains a segment of the Nipmuck Trail (CT Blue Trail State Greenway).

Town: Rocky Hill
Project Title: Oleski Farm
Sponsor: Town of Rocky Hill
Grant Award: $370,000
Total Acres: 21.12 acres
Description: This 21 acre parcel located on the west side of France Street was targeted by the town to be a key link for other existing farmlands located in the southwest part of town. Agriculture is a driving force for the protection of this parcel. The property is comprised of "Farmland of Statewide Importance Soil" and prime farmland soils (combined 93%). It also abuts 10.5 acres of privately-owned open space. Public access will be available for fishing on Saw Mill Brook and to the non-agricultural portion of the property.

Town: Sharon
Project Title: Benton Hill Preserve
Sponsor: Sharon Land Trust
Grant Award: $538,687
Total Acres: 72.171 acres
Description: Located in the southwest corner of Sharon next to the New York State line between Route 343 and Benton Hill Road, this acquisition will become the beginning of a planned greenway along Route 343. This parcel contains a few open fields and is composed of almost 80% prime agricultural soils. The remaining area is wetlands and contains a ridge with very scenic vistas. Acquisition of this property also will protect a large adjacent western wetland complex where several plant or animal species of concern have been documented.

Town: Southington
Project Title: Johnson Open Space
Sponsor: Town of Southington
Grant Award: $312,000
Total Acres: 17 acres
Description: Located at 1081 East Street, this predominantly gentle sloping 17 acre parcel has a tributary of Misery Brook bisecting it from north to south. The site contains two 4 acre fields on either side of the brook and the remainder is a hardwood and evergreen forest, all within a State listed Significant Natural Community. The parcel is also listed as part of an Aquifer Protection District for two Town public water wells.

Town: Vernon
Project Title: Strong Farm
Sponsor: Connecticut Farmland Trust
Grant Award: $650,000
Total Acres: 51.3 acres
Description: This project encompasses two parcels in Vernon Center within 1,100 feet of each other. Parcel A is 33 acres on Hartford Turnpike (Old Meeting House Hill) and Parcel B is 18.3 acres on West Street. Parcel A is open fields, on gently sloped hills principally used for agriculture. The parcel contains approximately 50% Prime Farmland Soils and contains scenic views of Hartford. Parcel B slopes upwardly from West Street to open fields then into a wooded area. This property contains over 55% Prime Farmland Soils and directly abuts municipal open space related to the town's middle school, athletic fields and community gardens.

Town: Woodbury
Project Title: Aquarian Water Company Land Acquisition
Sponsor: Town of Woodbury
Grant Award: $1,500,000
Total Acres: 250 acres
Description: This is a two parcel acquisition currently owned by Aquarian Water Company. The first parcel is the over 180 acre Woodbury Reservoir Property in the towns of Woodbury and Southbury. This parcel has frontage on Scuppo Road and Old Woodbury Road, contains an inactive reservoir, and abuts three town open space properties. The second parcel is 69 acres with frontage on Route 64 (Sherman Hill Road) and Tuttle Road. This parcel is also adjacent to the Whittemore Sanctuary. Both parcels have been managed by water companies and are undeveloped with extensive wetlands, approximately 10 acres of open water, prime agricultural soils and habitats that contain or support state listed wildlife and plant species. These parcels are part of the Pomperaug River Greenway and contain the recreationally-significant Middlebury Trolley Bed Trail along with numerous other shorter local trails currently enjoyed by the public.

Town: Westbrook
Project Title: Toby Hill Woods
Sponsor: Town of Westbrook
Grant Award: $390,000
Total Acres: 84 acres
Description: This project is the acquisition of an approved 38-lot subdivision and an additional 4 acres all located on the west side of Toby Hill Road. Acquisition will avoid adverse impacts to natural resources, close significant gaps needed to connect to other Town-owned open space properties (McVeagh Greenway), and enhance the creation of a regional trail system. McVeagh Brook (headwaters to Patchogue River) traverses this property and along with eight vernal pools in a predominantly mixed hardwood forest, provides a rich plant and wildlife habitat in an unfragmented forest.

URBAN GREEN AND COMMUNITY GARDEN GRANTS

Town: Bridgeport
Project Title: Revitalization of Five Community Gardens
Sponsor: Green Village Initiative
Grant Award: $110,656
Description: This grant is for the restoration of 5 community gardens that are part of a 13 community garden network within the City of Bridgeport. The community gardens are located at 142 Charles Street, 509 Artic Street, 122 Artic Street, 617 Ogden and 87 Hewitt Street. The Hewitt Street location is also part of Johnson Oak Park, a facility which just recently received a federal grant under the Land & Water Conservation Fund, Outdoor Recreation legacy Partnership Program. A typical renovation project includes, but is not limited to, removal of deteriorated/unsafe garden bed framing or support elements and purchase of lumber, organic garden soil, fencing and gates, accessible raised planters, and flagstone paths.

Town: Hartford
Project Title: Neighborhood Community Garden, 122 Enfield Street
Sponsor: Hartford Food System
Grant Award: $2,530
Description: Owned by the City of Hartford, 122 Enfield Street currently houses 11 raised beds. This grant will be used to create an 8 additional standard raised beds and 2 taller raised bed planters. In addition, 12 rain barrels will be added to the community garden.

Town: New Haven
Project Title: Restoration of an Urban refuge at Common Ground
Sponsor: Common Ground - New Haven Ecology Project
Grant Award: $55,000
Requested Amount: $55,000
Description: The New Haven Ecology Project - the nonprofit home of Common Ground High School, Urban Farm, and Environmental Education Center - will restore and enhance public access to approximately 2.5 acres of city park land and create a more effective gateway to West Rock Ridge State Park. This will be accomplished by creating a ¼ mile handicapped accessible health and environmental exploration trail, making a loop around Common Ground's market garden, construction of a 20' x 25' classroom pavilion, and the restoration of a ½ acre wildlife habitat. Model green infrastructure practices will be utilized.

Town: Windham
Project Title: Philip Lauter Park Community Garden
Sponsor: Town of Windham
Grant Award: $32,968
Description: Philip Lauter Park is located just outside of Willimantic off State Route 195 (across from the Stone Well House) and also abuts the Natchaug River. The Park's resources include basketball courts, beach, car-top boat launch, walking paths, baseball fields, soccer fields, skate park, playscape, splash pad, picnic areas, parking, and an existing community garden. This grant will be used to expand the existing garden and to establish at the Park an additional garden, a "Community Farm," and a production garden that will be used primarily by local youth groups coordinated by GROW Windham.