None The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut Press Releases Search All Press Releases Kerry Crisley 617-227-7017 ext. 316 kcrisley@tnc.org

The Nature Conservancy Working to Protect 740 Acres on Eightmile River

Project would preserve nearly three miles of river corridor and connect to 7,500 acres of protected lands

SALEM, CT — February 7, 2008 — In an effort to preserve an important link in the Eightmile River watershed, The Nature Conservancy announced that it has entered into an agreement to purchase 740 acres of land from the Salem Valley Corporation (SVC) of Salem, Connecticut for $2,000,000. The Conservancy has pledged $1,000,000 now, and has until the end of the year to raise the remaining funds.

The acreage is the accumulated total of four properties, one of which – at 555 acres – is among the largest unprotected parcels remaining in the watershed. The properties represent a critical link to 7,500 acres of conserved lands, including Devil’s Hopyard State Park, the Nehantic State Forest and numerous Conservancy preserves. Preservation of these parcels would also add nearly three miles to the existing ten miles of protected corridor within the Eightmile River system.

“Keeping the watershed’s forests and river corridors in or near their natural condition is the key to maintaining the ecological services that the Eightmile system provides, such as clean drinking water, natural flood control and wildlife habitat,” said Lise Hanners, PhD, state director for The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut. “But this can only be achieved if the next million dollars is raised; if not, then a likely alternative will be a sale to developers.”

“We are thrilled to be working with TNC," says Lucretia Bingham, Acting President of the SVC, a family owned corporation,  "These lands have been in our family for over 250 years. It's wonderful to think of our pastures, woods and streams being protected in perpetuity. Without a sale of conservation easements, we might be forced to succumb to the economic pressures of development. I walk through the woods alongside stone walls and bridges built by my ancestors; I am proud to think that, in hundreds of years, others will still walk those very same trails."

The SVC land protection challenge comes on the heels of another recent success on the Eightmile River. The Nature Conservancy received a conservation easement donation on a 70-acre property in Lyme, Connecticut from Cynthia and George Willauer. This property had been the site of a proposed one million cubic yard gravel operation which was ultimately turned down by the Lyme Wetlands Commission.  “Although we enabled this conservation purchase, the heroes of the effort are the people of Lyme and Old Lyme who for several years worked with the Pleasant Valley Association to block commercial mining of an environmentally-sensitive area in the heart of Lyme,” said Cynthia Willauer.

The Willauer property is immediately adjacent to Nehantic State forest and another Conservancy-held easement to the west.  Its protection directly adds to the expanse of unfragmented forest core within the Eightmile watershed, and protects frontage on Beaver Brook, a high quality tributary of the Eightmile River. 

“Adding these 70 acres to the surrounding protected lands is something to celebrate,” said Nathan Frohling, director of The Nature Conservancy’s Lower Connecticut River Program. “Let’s hope that in a year’s time we are celebrating the protection of the Salem Valley lands as well.” 

About the Eightmile River Watershed
The Eightmile River meanders through 40,000 acres of forests, fields and tranquil river towns. From its cold, fast-flowing headwaters to its confluence with the Connecticut River at Hamburg Cove’s freshwater tidal marshes, the Eightmile remains in remarkably good condition with high water quality and rich aquatic life. The watershed also provides important wildlife habitat for migratory birds, interior forest nesting birds such as the Cerulean Warbler and Worm-Eating Warbler, and roaming mammals such as bobcat and river otter.

For more information on the Eightmile River, visit www.nature.org/Connecticut.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters 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.