Goshen Campaign A Success (CT)

GOSHEN, Connecticut, 4/7/2003: The Goshen Land Trust and the Trust for Public Land (TPL) announced today that the campaign to protect 16.5 acres along the Bantam River on Torrington Road has been successfully concluded. A $45,000 grant announced today by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection at a press conference in Litchfield brought the campaign across the finish line. The land will be owned and managed as open space by the Goshen Land Trust.

“The Goshen Land Trust would like to thank all of our local supporters and the Trust for Public Land for their hard work in the protection of this land,” said Jean Breakell, treasurer of the Goshen Land Trust. “This land is a vital link in the greenway we are creating along the Bantam River and Fox Brook. Its conservation would not have been possible without today’s $45,000 award from the State and the generosity of our private donors.”

“Goshen is setting a terrific example for other communities by protecting critical open space before it is lost to development,” said Badge Blackett, senior project manager for the Trust for Public Land. “The completion of this acquisition along the Bantam River will provide new recreation opportunities, safeguard water quality, and protect important wildlife habitat.” TPL acquired the land from Joseph and Barbara Kovalcik in August 2002 and held it off the market while working with the Goshen Land Trust to raise the $90,000 needed for its permanent protection.

Located between the Norton Wood Lot and the Kobylenski Wildlife Park and Recreation Area, which are already owned by the Goshen Land Trust, the property is now part of a 156-acre preserve open to the public for low-impact recreational use. The land protected by this campaign is crossed by old stonewalls, contains a historic mill building, and includes woodlands, wetlands, and meadows.

Founded in 1980, the Goshen Land Trust seeks to preserve, in perpetuity, land in the Town of Goshen, for the purposes of habitat preservation and enhancement, water quality protection, agricultural production, passive recreation, and scenic and historical preservation. The Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit conservation organization conserving land for people to enjoy as parks, gardens, and natural areas, ensuring livable communities for generations to come.

Since its founding in 1972, TPL has helped protect more than 1.6 million acres of land in 45 states, including more than 3,000 acres in Connecticut. TPL depends on the support and generosity of individuals, foundations, and businesses to achieve our land for people mission. For more information, please contact us at (203) 777-7367.