Conservation Connections
Protecting the river and its watershed is possible when people work together and have access to good information. The resources listed below can provide information and referrals to people who can assist with land use planning, land conservation, and aquifer protection.
Land Use Planning Resources
Municipal Resources
Your town's Planning and Zoning Commission, Inland Wetlands Agency, Conservation Commission, and Town Planner
Organizations that Address Land Use Issues
- Windham Region Council of Governments includes Ashford, Coventry, Columbia, Lebanon, Mansfield, Windham
- Capitol Region Council of Governments includes Andover, Bolton, Ellington, Hebron, Tolland, Vernon
- Eastern Connecticut Conservation District includes Andover, Ashford, Columbia, Lebanon, Mansfield, Union, Windham
- North Central Conservation District includes Bolton, Coventry, Ellington, Tolland, Vernon, Willington
- Green Valley Institute for Coventry, Lebanon, Mansfield, Union, Windham
- University of Connecticut's Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR) has created many online references, including CTECO (Connecticut Environmental Conditions Online) that offers natural resource maps, guides and data about Connecticut's water resources, open space properties, geology, and more.
Land Conservation Resources
Local Land Trusts
Friends of Valley Falls Park (FVFP)
Focus: land near Valley Falls Park
Joshua's Tract Conservation and Historic Trust (JTLT)
Towns: Ashford, Columbia, Coventry, Lebanon, Mansfield, Tolland, Willington, Windham
Opacum Land Trust, inc. (OLT)
Towns: Monson, Wales, Holland, Southbridge, Charlton, Sturbridge, the Brookfields, Warren, Palmer, and Brimfield, Massachusetts
Northern Connecticut Land Trust, inc. (NCLT)
Towns: Bolton, Ellington, Stafford, Union, Vernon
Focus: farmland and large forest tracts
Wolf Den Land Trust (WDLT)
Focus: Managed forest land in Windham County (includes Ashford and Windham)
Other Resources for Land Conservation
American Farmland Trust, Connecticut Working Lands Alliance
Focus: Farmland preservation and estate planning.
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection
Land Acquisition Department (DEP property purchases)
Rick Dewey, Division of Land Acquisition and Management, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106
Telephone: 860-424-3055
E-mail: rick.dewey@ct.gov
Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Program
(Matching grants to towns and trusts)
Dave Stygar, Division of Land Acquisition and Management
Address: 79 Elm Street Hartford, CT 06106
Telephone: 860-424-3016
E-mail: david.stygar@ct.gov
Connecticut Department of Agriculture
Jay Dippel
Address: 765 Asylum Ave., Hartford, CT 06105
Telephone: 860-713-2511
Norcross Wildlife Foundation, inc.
Towns: Somers, Stafford, Union
Focus: Wildlife habitat conservation and stewardship
The Last Green Valley (Quinebaug-Shetucket National Heritage Corridor)
Towns: Coventry, Lebanon, Mansfield, Windham
Focus: Facilitates land protection projects.