Salisbury Easements

Salisbury & Sharon, CT 682 acres Download Map

Northeast Wilderness Trust holds forever-wild easements on six Salisbury Association Land Trust Preserves, totaling 682 acres.

The six protected preserves are Pope, Yoakum, Mitchell Shostak, Belter Lime Rock, Dark Hollow, and Railroad Ramble. These properties are mostly core forest in an area of high climate resiliency. They harbor a rich variety of wildlife and plants including many rare species.

These lands fall within the “Greens to Hudson Highlands” wildlife linkage, identified by the Staying Connected Initiative. Three of the preserves are adjacent to the Appalachian Trail corridor: Pope, Belter Lime Rock, and Shostak.

The Salisbury easement properties include diverse forest in both high and low terrain, which support habitat, refuge, and safe passage for myriad species including black bear, moose, beaver, mink, otter, fisher, porcupine, deer, red fox, coyote, timber rattlesnake, and other important wildlife species.

Salisbury Association worked with Northeast Wilderness Trust through its Wildlands Partnership program, which was founded in collaboration with Sweet Water Trust and Wildlands & Woodlands. The Partnership encourages local land trusts across the Northeast to engage in forever-wild conservation by offering eligible land trusts support for project costs, as well as access to the voluntary carbon market.

“We have always felt that these areas of core forest are best managed as forever-wild. Adding a layer of protection to these conserved lands with the support of Northeast Wilderness Trust helps make that protection more secure for the future.” John Landon, Salisbury Association trustee

Forever-wild protection of the varied terrain and elevations of these properties make them well-positioned to absorb stresses and maintain ecological functions in the face of the pressures of climate change. The highlands region of Salisbury will offer refuge for many of Connecticut’s species that depend upon cooler temperatures.

These landscapes also provide safe places and multiple options for wildlife on the move, and plants and fungi shifting their range in response to climate change. The forest itself functions as a carbon sink, sequestering and storing carbon, helping to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

To learn more, visit salisburyassociation.org/land-trust or www.newildernesstrust.org/wildlandspartnership.

Photography by Harry White.