August 1, 2024 – Kent, CT – Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy (NCLC) is pleased to announce it has been awarded grants totaling $4.5M from the State of Connecticut’s Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Grant Program (OSWA) for the purchase of two future public recreation preserves: Glen Brook, a 117-acre property located in Sherman, and Milde Farm, a 670-acre working farm and forest in Litchfield and Torrington. Glen Brook will connect with NCLC’s existing public Strauss Morrissey Preserve and is poised to conserve richly diverse wetland, woodland, and meadow habitats within a contiguous protected area of 459 acres, while Milde Farm, with its extraordinary size, mixed array of habitats, and one mile of frontage on the Bantam River, will serve the region as a premier preserve with plentiful public recreation opportunities.
This week, NCLC also completed the successful acquisition of a 45-acre property in Brookfield it has named The Ledges. This highly anticipated conservation acquisition adjoins Burr Farm, a beloved 116-acre town-owned preserve and working farm that offers public recreation opportunities, including hiking, walking, horseback riding, bird watching, cross-country skiing, and more. With grants from OSWA, the Highlands Conservation Act, and the Town of Brookfield, NCLC was able to purchase The Ledges preserve, which will enhance public recreational opportunities through the addition of two miles of new trails and also protect an active wildlife conservation corridor.
“Conservation improves our quality of life, fosters community well-being, and safeguards a thriving and healthy natural environment we all depend on. These acquisitions advance NCLC’s strategic goals of increasing access and opportunities for people and communities to enjoy the region’s natural environment, while also accelerating the pace and scale of conservation to ensure we meet and sustain a goal of protecting 30% of our region’s lands and waters by 2030,” said Catherine Rawson, executive director of NCLC.
With the addition of the Ledges Preserve and the pending acquisitions of Glen Brook and Milde Farm, NCLC is on track to triple its pace of conservation by increasing its protected land holdings by approximately 832 acres. NCLC continues to raise funds to care for these properties and transform them into premier public nature preserves. “Our work is just beginning” remarks Rawson. “NCLC will care for these properties in perpetuity. We hope the public will support the critical work of stewarding these irreplaceable lands for generations to come.”
For more information about Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy and its protected lands, please visit www.ctland.org.
About Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy
Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy is a nonprofit, regional conservation organization working with the communities of Litchfield and northern Fairfield Counties to safeguard natural and working lands, public recreation areas, and drinking water resources forever. Founded in 1965, NCLC is the largest land trust in Connecticut, protecting 13,300 acres (and growing). To strengthen the region’s capacity to conserve high-quality conservation lands and ensure the permanence of those conserved lands for the future, NCLC merged with Brookfield Open Space Legacy in 2019 and Naromi Land Trust in 2020. NCLC’s conserved lands include 22 public hiking preserves, 48 working farms, and over 3,000 acres of habitat for rare and endangered species.