Lyme Receives Portion of $4.7 Million Open Space Grant

HARTFORD, CT – On Monday, Governor Dannel P. Malloy announced grant awards of $4.7 million to support 17 communities in the purchase of 1,170 acres of open space, and to assist two urban communities in enhancing or developing community gardens.

“Connecticut’s tradition of preserving open space began in the early 1900s and continues today with a focus on land preservation that protects important natural resources and ensuring that our state maintains its natural beauty,” Governor Malloy said in a release. “Through these grants, we will increase the availability of open space to provide our residents with protected lands to enjoy for outdoor recreation all across our state.”

The Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition program, administered by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), assists local governments and land trusts in purchasing open space. This grant program requires a conservation and public recreation easement that will ensure that the property is forever protected for public use and enjoyment.

In addition, today’s announcement also includes almost $50,000 in grant funds that will assist in the creation or enhancement of community gardens in two urban areas – New Haven and Hartford.

Open space projects like these are helping the state to achieve its goal of protecting 673,210 acres of land and preserving twenty-one percent of land by 2023. To date, Connecticut has over 500,000 acres designated as state or local open space lands, close to 75 percent of the goal.

“Since the Open Space Grant program began in 1998, more than $125 million in state funding has been awarded to municipalities, nonprofit land conservation organizations, and water companies to assist in the purchase of more than 32,000 acres of land, including farmlands, in 135 cities and towns,” DEEP Commissioner Robert Klee said in a release. “These important open space properties protect natural resources and improve the quality of life for residents and visitors alike.”

The Urban Green and Community Garden Initiative is available to targeted and/or distressed municipalities. These grants can be used to reclaim or develop or enhance an existing open space or community garden. The benefits of this program is not only to open an area up to recreation and environmental education but to improve community health through various actions such as producing various vegetables and fruits and providing much needed green space in more highly developed areas.

The following grants were awarded to Lyme:

Town: Lyme

Project Title: Hawthorn Preserve

Sponsor: Lyme Land Conservation Trust, Inc.

Grant Award: $260,000

Total Acres: 82.5

Description: This acquisition protects nearly 1/4 mile of Whalebone Creek and the associated currently undisturbed brackish wetlands in this watershed. This parcel will become part of a protected wildlife refuge and a contiguous forestland block of more than 1,000 acres. Existing trails on abutting protected land can be extended onto this property and beyond.

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