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CONNECTICUT, PRESS RELEASE, CARBON & CLIMATE CHANGE

Cornwall Conservation Trust, Inc. Enrolls 375 Forested Acres in Northeast Wilderness Trust’s Wildlands Partnership

Cornwall, CTCornwall Conservation Trust, Inc. (CCT) enrolled 375 acres of its forested preserves in the Wildlands Partnership—an initiative of Northeast Wilderness Trust (NEWT) that engages local land trusts across the Northeast in wilderness conservation. This land is now permanently “forever-wild” allowing nature to flourish with minimal human intervention.

CCT added wilderness-level protections through a Northeast Wilderness Trust conservation easement to its 200-acre Greyledge Preserve, 100-acre Nancy Nauts Dobbs Preserve, and 75-acre Red Mountain Preserve. The protections permit those properties to evolve through natural processes without intensive human management. The forever-wild protection allows access for the public to enjoy the natural beauty of this land on foot. On these preserves CCT will also be able to address safety issues and environmentally sound management of invasive pests and plants.

These three preserves have particularly high conservation value. They contribute to clean, cold water to the Hollenbeck and Housatonic Rivers, provide diverse wildlife habitat for native species, and show remarkable capacity for ecological resilience in the face of climate change. Eight rare species—including whippoorwills and eyed brown butterflies—have been catalogued on or near the Preserves. The forever-wild lands abut Mohawk State Forest, altogether totaling a 1,230-acre protected forest block.

“CCT’s decision to participate in the Wildlands Partnership began with the desire of the generous donors of the Greyledge Preserve to have their property left forever wild to nature and limited public access,” said Bart Jones, President of CCT. “The Wildlands Partnership offered us a way to accomplish their goal and much-needed financial resources to make that happen. NEWT’s Wildlands Partnership covered transaction expenses and a reserve for future stewardship costs, as well as a significant contribution to fund the purchase of the Red Mountain Preserve. CCT took this action in recognition of the environmental challenges of climate change and extinction of species through loss of habitat. NEWT’s Wildlands Partnership offers CCT an opportunity to ensure that CCT’s protected forestland will never again be logged and will still allow for public enjoyment of nature.”

“Northeast Wilderness Trust puts an emphasis on conserving lands that will be critical for wildlife—from plants to animals to fungi—as climate change ramps up,” said Sophie Ehrhardt, Wildlands Partnership Coordinator for Northeast Wilderness Trust. “We are excited to be working in northwest Connecticut again, which will be a key bridge for species as environmental conditions change drastically in the coming years.”

About Cornwall Conservation Trust, Inc. and Northeast Wilderness Trust

Cornwall Conservation Trust, Inc. is a Connecticut land trust accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission. Since CCT’s incorporation in 1987, CCT has permanently conserved over 2000 acres of forest and farmland in Cornwall.

Northeast Wilderness Trust is a regional land trust working to conserve forever-wild landscapes for nature and people. It safeguards 64,000 wild acres across New England and New York. The Wildlands Partnership is a NEWT regional initiative that supports local land trusts to adopt forever-wild conservation.

Photography by Harry White