Rivers. Regenerating forests. Timber. Woodlots. Hayfields. Meadows. Hedgerows. Planning and vision.

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Town: Sprague

Project Title: Tenenbaum – Morehouse
Sponsor: Town of Sprague
Address: 269 Scotland Road
Grant: $96,600
Acreage: 28.9 acres

Description: Located off Scotland Road (Rt. 97) in Sprague, the property is principally a forested wood lot with some open fields that are being used for silage (listed as 13 acres farmland), wetlands, swamp grasses, and two ponds for irrigation. The property is bisected by a rail line leaving a small section of the property (1.9 acres) separated for the main parcel but having frontage on the Shetucket River. This parcel also abuts state DEEP land to the north.

Town: Sprague, Franklin

Project Title: Peltier Property
Sponsor: Town of Sprague
Address: 154 Holton Road
Grant: $158,200
Acreage: 51.40 acres

Description: This property will become part of the Sprague Land Preserve, which is located in both Sprague and Franklin and totals over 330 acres of open space that has received three grants under this program (includes the Mukluk Property). Acquisition of this parcel would secure the main access to this preserve off Holton Road in Franklin. It is an undeveloped forested woodlot with 7 percent wetland, mapped farmland soils and about 25 percent steeply sloping.

Town: Stratford

Project Title: Roosevelt Forest
Sponsor: Town of Stratford
Address: 225 Peters Lane
Grant: $261,240
Acreage: 19 acres

Description: This proposal is the acquisition of two separate parcels (15 acres and 3.9 acres), both to be acquired by the Town of Stratford and added to Roosevelt Forest (approximately 400 acres). The property is located in the Town of Stratford and in the City of Shelton. Both properties are undeveloped upland woodlots with some associated wetland and the typical New England forest wildlife habitat.

Town: Thompson

Project Title: Bull Hill
Sponsor: Wyndham Land Trust, Inc.
Address: 57 Bull Hill Road, N. Grosvenor Dale Road, and 120 Bull Hill Road, Woodstock
Grant: $172,500
Acreage: 254 acres

Description: The 254 acres of this proposal is part of a 3,000 acre undeveloped forest located in the towns of Thompson and Woodstock. It is principally an inholding with the best access being Bull Hill Road. The property has developed trails, with areas undergoing timber harvesting and other areas of the forest being regenerating. About 1/2 of this property is within the Little River Watershed and is close to the Army Corp of Engineer's West Thompson Dam.

Town: Washington

Project Title: Johnson Farm
Sponsor: Steep Rock Association, Inc.
Address: 63 West Mountain Road
Grant: $886,500
Acreage: 50.53 acres

Description: Johnson Farm is located in the southeastern part of Washington. It is composed of 38 acres of farmland (hayfields), 12 acres of forestland, and 10 acres of wetland, which drain to Sprain Brook. The fields will continue to be hayed, thus protecting a grassland habitat. While not directly abutting West Mountain Preserve (Steep Rock), it is only a 300 yard walk, which combined with the 0.8 mile of possible trail on the Farm provides recreational and educational opportunities.

Town: Watertown

Project Title: Franson Farmland
Sponsor: Watertown Land Trust, Inc.
Address: 381 Plungis Road
Grant: $119,250
Acreage: 26.3 acres

Description: Located in north central Watertown, this property is principally characterized as being 50 percent wetland (Peck’s Swamp) that drains into Waterbury's Wigwam Reservoir, and provides excellent habitat for amphibians, birds and water dependent mammals. The other half of the property is a meadow, which is currently being hayed (16 percent prime agricultural soils). This property is abutting a 300-acre farm currently being considered by the Department of Agriculture for preservation.

Town: Weston

Project Title: Belknap Property
Sponsor: Aspetuck Land Trust, Inc.
Address: Wampum Hill Road
Grant: $165,497
Acreage: 38.35 acres

Description: This project is the acquisition, in-fee, of 27.85 acres and the purchase of an easement over 10.5 acres of an undeveloped interior woodland. The parcel is adjacent to Asputuck’s 81-acre Honey Hill Preserve and is part of a greenway of 2,600 acres of land owned by Wilton Land Conservation Trust, Asputuck, The Nature Conservancy and the Towns of Wilton and Weston. The proposal serves to create trail linkages and enhance habitat preservation.

Town: Windsor

Project Title: Mill Brook Open Space
Sponsor: Town of Windsor
Address: 100 Pigeon Hill Road
Grant: $1,086,000
Acreage: 94 acres

Description: This parcel was previously a privately-operated golf course and is currently undergoing reclamation into a varied mix of wet and upland meadow with high grass and low shrubs along with an early successional forest. The parcel lends itself for development and linkages for passive recreation areas and trails. Located off Pigeon Hill Road in Windsor, the parcel is part of the Mill Brook Greenway (4,000 feet of Mill Brook) corridor and connects with Fitch Park, less than a half mile from downtown Windsor.

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Note: The grants come through the 2017 round of the Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition (OSWA) Grant Program, which is administered by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). This program provides financial support to municipalities, land trusts and water companies in purchasing open space, using state bonds and funding from the Community Investment Act.

Since the grant program was launched in 1998, more than $125 million in state funding has been awarded to assist in the purchase of more than 33,000 acres of land, including farmlands, in 137 cities and towns. The Connecticut Land Conservation Council works in partnership with land trusts throughout the state to advocate for land conservation, stewardship and funding to ensure the long term strength and viability of the land conservation community.