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Face of Connecticut campaign requests $1 billion investment over 10 years

Program would protect and improve Connecticut’s natural areas, farmland, historic buildings and city and village centers

HARTFORD, CT — February 16, 2007 — We have all seen the fields and forests of rural towns in Connecticut turned into subdivisions; the view from the highway of abandoned, deteriorating buildings; the degraded quality of our rivers and Long Island Sound.

On Friday, a coalition of groups introduced the Face of Connecticut campaign to help Connecticut address these issues and retain its rural character, keep its waterw ays clean and revitalize its urban centers. The Face of Connecticut is asking for a state commitment of $1 billion over ten years to
address these issues.

“The needs addressed by this campaign are urgent,” said Lise Hanne rs, Ph.D., state director of The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut. “In many of our communities, the fate of every undeveloped acre will be determined within the next ten years. With natural, agricultural and historic properties facing the threat of development, we must act now or they will be lost forever.”

The campaign addresses the need for preserving and restoring Connecticut’s heritage. It balances the unplanned development around the state by protecting and preserving the state’s open space and farmland, as well as its city and village centers and urban areas.

“Public policy initiatives that directly benefit downtown areas are essential to the revitalization of our cities and towns,” said John Simone, president and CEO of Connecticut Main Street Center. “The Face of Connecticut campaign is the right approach to make this happen by focusing on nurturing our natural and historic resources, including our downtowns, for balanced economic growth.”

“This campaign makes a priority of investing in our historic resources,” said Helen Higgins, executive director of the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation. “The municipal buildings, urban neighborhoods, village centers and historic industrial buildings of our state can provide an economic and cultural value that cannot be ignored.”

Recently, Gov. M Jodi Rell included in her budget increased funding for programs aimed at preserving open space and farmland, as well as for regional planning agencies. The Face of Connecticut campaign is proposing increases in funding to many of the same programs. By working together with Gov. Rell and state legislators there is hope in protecting the Face of Connecticut for the future.

“Last week, we heard from legislative leaders who testified before the Environment Committee that we need to increase our efforts to protect Connecticut's farms from development," said Bonnie Burr, director of government relations for the Connecticut Farm Bureau. "We couldn't agree more.  The barns and working fields of Connecticut are state treasures, reminding us of our past and providing us with fresh, locally grown produce, wines, Christmas trees and wonderful scenery, all while also providing steady jobs and a way of life for many residents."

The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working to protect the most ecologically important lands and waters around the world for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.