Grant Helps Protect Chapman Mill Pond (CT)

WESTBROOK, Connecticut, 4/8/2003: Today, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced an award of $500,000 to the Town of Westbrook from the Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Grant Program. The grant will be applied towards the purchase of 47 acres along Chapman Mill Pond, the second phase in a larger 83-acre project. The award was hailed by the Town of Westbrook and the Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national nonprofit organization that has been helping the town to protect the land.

“I am extremely pleased that the State of Connecticut has again recognized the value of the Chapman Mill Pond property to the Town of Westbrook,” said Westbrook First Selectman Tony Palermo. “This award will help us to move ahead in our work to protect 47 scenic acres of forest and wetlands.”

“This generous award is a truly fitting acknowledgement of this important project,” said Alicia Betty, project manager for the Trust for Public Land. “The Town has committed $1.7 million to the purchase of the entire 83-acre Chapman Mill Pond property over two years, and today’s grant recognizes this local dedication by greatly offsetting the Town’s acquisition cost on Phase II.”

The Chapman Mill Pond property is part of a corridor of open space that stretches from the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge on Long Island Sound to the Cockaponsett State Forest in northern Westbrook. It includes frontage on Chapman Mill Pond, which is formed by a dam in the Menunketesuck River as it flows from the towns of Haddam and Killingworth to Long Island Sound in Westbrook. Primarily forested, the land provides habitat for a variety of wildlife including, osprey, horned owl, wood duck, and several species of songbirds, and includes several small streams, a vernal pool, and other wetlands. The project’s first phase was completed last November with the Town’s acquisition of 36 acres for conservation.

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.