The Nature Conservancy Protects More than 300 Acres in North Stonington and Preston

Middletown, CT—April 3, 2006—The Conservancy recently purchased 302 acres in North Stonington and Preston. The property, located next to Pachaug State Forest, the state’s largest, was owned by the Noyes family for several generations, and family members wanted to see it preserved.

“There’s been so much commercialization and housing development in this area, but I’ve had no concept of doing that. I wanted to leave this land the way it was. I grew up on it, basically, as a young man, and I always had a warm feeling for it.” Said the seller, Mr. Harrison Noyes.

The Nature Conservancy was interested in the property for a number of reasons. “The property is an amazing piece of our regional natural heritage” states Kevin Essington, director of the Conservancy’s Pawcatuck Borderlands Project. “It has deep woods, a clear trout stream, a steep cliff, and sand plains. And since it connects to Pachaug State Forest, conserving the property adds onto seventy years of land conservation in the area by the State of Connecticut.”

Last November, the Conservancy was awarded a grant through the Department of Environmental Protection’s Open Space Matching Grants program. This grant provided part of the funding for the project, with the Conservancy needing to raise additional private donations to complete the sale. Eventually, the property will be sold through a conservation buyer transaction. The DEP will hold a conservation easement on the property, limiting any future development of the property.

“Selling the land to someone willing to protect it from potential future development makes sense for us,” says Lise Hanners, Ph.D., state director of the Conservancy in Connecticut. “Doing so allows The Nature Conservancy to recoup some of our investment, which we can then use to protect other important natural areas. Meanwhile this property is protected for the future.”

In the coming months, Conservancy and DEP staff will work to create trails on the property. Those trails will link with others within the state forest. Once the trail is established, visitors will be able to take in long distance views and enjoy the cool shade along Miller Brook, which winds its way through a half mile of the property.