CT Awards $521K To Preserve Open Space Parcel In Weston

WESTON, CT — An open space property in Weston is the beneficiary of a state grant program meant to aid in the purchase and protection of open space through 17 projects in 18 municipalities across Connecticut.

The property known as Belknap II is located at 0 Wampum Hill Road in Weston, and was sponsored by Aspetuck Land Trust. It has been awarded a grant of $521,300.

The parcel of undeveloped woodland has frontage on Wampum Hill Road, Cannondale Road, and Cindy Lane. Mayapple Brook discharges into the Norwalk River, and wetlands run through the east of the property. It provides direct linkage to the existing Norwalk Heritage Greenway. It is part of a long-term assemblage project that Aspetuck Land Trust has undertaken to create a 705-acre contiguous forest known as the Weston Wilton Forest Reserve. The parcel contains multiple stone walls, and varying topography, and will provide significant passive recreation opportunities through the creation of a central trailhead with hiking trails and off-street parking lot. According to a statement released by the Governor's Office Wednesday, the parcel will create a "triple-junction" intersection that completes a regional trail and wildlife corridor through state, municipal, and land trust-owned properties that connect the WWFR to the Norwalk River Valley Trail and The Nature Conservancy’s Devil’s Den Preserve.

Statewide, $14.5 million in grants have been awarded to aid in the purchase and protection of more than 2,626 acres of open space through 17 projects in 18 municipalities. Additionally, $343,015 in state grants are being awarded to create two new urban community green spaces in Stratford and Thomaston.

These funds are being provided through the state’s Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Grant Program and the Urban Green and Community Gardens Grant Program, both of which are administered by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. They mark the largest round of open space protection awards – both by acreage protected and by dollars awarded – in more than a decade.

The Connecticut General Assembly established a goal of protecting 673,210 acres (21 percent) of the state’s land base as open space. The goal calls for 320,576 acres (10 percent) to be held by DEEP as part of the state’s system of parks, forests, fisheries, and natural resource management areas, and 352,634 acres (11 percent) to be acquired by DEEP’s partners, which include municipalities, nonprofit land conservation organizations, and water companies.

As of December 31, 2023, DEEP estimates that its partners held approximately 253,682 acres (71.5 percent) of their share of the state’s open space goal, and that DEEP held approximately 263,528 acres (82.22 percent) of its share of the state’s goal. In total, 517,210 acres have been preserved (76.82 percent of the total goal), leaving an additional 156,000 acres remaining to meet the 21 percent open space goal.

"Since the Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition program began in 1998, more than $161 million in state funding has been awarded to municipalities, nonprofit land conservation organizations, and water companies to assist in the purchase of more than 43,000 acres of publicly accessible land," DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said. "Open space preservation is more important now than ever. These lands provide critical natural climate mitigation solutions, protect our important wildlife habitat and species, maintain healthy air and clean water, and provide outdoor recreational opportunities for Connecticut residents."

The grants announced Wednesday are the 26th round awarded under these programs.