None The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut Press Releases Search All Press Releases Nathan Frohling Nathan Frohling 860/767-7706 ext. 12 David Bingham 860/859-1247 E-mail: nfrohling@tnc.org

Press Release

Date: 01/10/02

475 More Acres Protected at the Heart of the Eightmile River Watershed

SALEM - The Nature Conservancy Connecticut Chapter has purchased a conservation easement on 475-acre Hiram Bingham Development Corporation's land south of Route 82.
 Flowing through this land are two miles of the east branch of the Eightmile River, one of the Conservancy's highest priorities in the state.  The Conservancy paid $800,000 for the easement, a significant bargain sale.

The parcel links other Nature Conservancy and state land, including the 1,122-acre Burnham Brook Preserve and the 33-acre Winslow property, which abuts the 318-acre Firestone Property in East Haddam and Lyme.  It is also close to the recently protected 500-acre Walden Property in the center of Salem.  It is a varied landscape, with aquatic habitats including wetlands and stretches of white water in the river, as well as at least two vernal pools, a large forested area, and open field managed to support grassland birds.

"This can only be described as a cornerstone piece of our work in the Eightmile River watershed," said Nathan Frohling, who is Geoffrey C. Hughes director of The Nature Conservancy's Tidelands of the Connecticut River program.  "We have worked with the Bingham family for many years, and are grateful for their friendship and generosity.  They are real conservation leaders."

 "The eleven children of Hiram and Rose Bingham and their families, who inherited the historic Mumford Farm are delighted that The Nature Conservancy has agreed to help protect this land permanently," said David Bingham.  "It is not easy to get a large family to agree on anything, and I am grateful to my brothers and sisters and their families for their commitment to the stewardship of this land."

 A conservation easement -- in Connecticut called a conservation restriction -- is a legal agreement a property owner makes to restrict the type and amount of development that may take place on a specific piece of property.  The land is still privately owned by the grantor of the easement.

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