(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that his administration is awarding $14.3 million in state funding to aid in the purchase and protection of more than 2,270 acres of open space through 25 properties in 22 towns and cities across Connecticut. Additionally, $725,353 is being awarded to support the creation of six new community green spaces.
These funds are being provided through the state’s Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Grant Program (OSWA) and the Urban Green and Community Gardens Grant Program (UGCG), both of which are administered by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).
“Open space is a big contributor to our great quality of life here in Connecticut, and we are excited to help all these communities improve access to the outdoors with these funds,” Governor Lamont said. “These community assets help our residents stay active and healthy by providing free recreational opportunities while also helping to improve air and water quality. Open space makes Connecticut a great place to live, work, and play.”
From left: Connie Manes (Kent Land Trust), Amy Patterson (CLCC), CT Governor Ned Lamont, Mark Hibbard (ALC), Elanah Sherman (ALC), Dennis Main (ALC), Peter Gauthier (ALC), Sarah Williams (Guilford LT), and Unk Commissioner
A Connecticut state law (C.G.S. Section 23-8) sets a goal of protecting 673,210 acres of the state’s land base (21%) as open space. It calls for 320,576 acres (10%) 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%) to be acquired by DEEP’s partners, which include municipalities, nonprofit land conservation organizations, and water companies.
As of December 31, 2024, DEEP estimates that its partners held approximately 255,169 acres, or 72.4% of their share of the state’s open space goal, and that DEEP held approximately 263,969 acres or 82.34% of its share. In total, 519,138 acres have been preserved (77.11% of the total goal), leaving an additional 154,072 acres remaining to meet the 21% open space goal.
“Since the state’s open space program began in 1998, more than $190 million in state funding has been awarded to municipalities, nonprofit land conservation organizations, and water companies to assist in the protection of more than 48,000 acres of publicly accessible land,” DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said. “From large tracts of land to small pocket parks, this group of projects benefits a variety of communities across the state. DEEP is excited to see recent program changes bringing new communities and partners to the table.”
Peter Gauthier, Dennis Main, Commissioner Katie Dykes of DEEP, Elanah Sherman, and Mark Hibbard at the Governor’s OSWA announcement event.
In recent years, DEEP and the state legislature have made changes to both programs to remove barriers to participation and enable more communities across the state to benefit. These updates include allowing OSWA applicants to seek reimbursement for incidental costs associated with land acquisition, expanding UGCG eligibility to nonprofit organizations, and extending UGCG eligibility to more communities across the state. This year, 10 of the 31 awardees across the two programs took advantage of recent program changes, and DEEP hopes those numbers will only increase in the years to come.
Today’s grants are the 27th grant round under both programs. DEEP has opened the application period for the 28th grant round for both programs, and the deadline to submit applications is November 3, 2025. For grant application materials and instructions, visit portal.ct.gov/deep/open-space/open-space.
For the complete list of grants included in the 27th grant round for both programs, visit CT.Gov.
Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Grants Awarded to Avalonia Land Conservancy
Project Name: Victor & Murray Czeczotka & Lucy LeFevre Property Sponsor: Avalonia Land Conservancy, Inc. (ALC) Location: 166 Colonel Brown Road, Griswold Grant Amount: $161,250.00 + $20,050.00 in incidental costs Size: 28.13 Acres Description: This property contains 2nd growth mature upland forest, limited palustrine wetlands and vernal pools. It is adjacent to ALC’s 152-acre Dutka Preserve, Pachaug Pond, and ALC’s Scola Preserve on Burton Island, forming a mile plus long greenway. All the parcels provide a sizable forest preserve, aquifer protection, and wildlife corridor. ALC will create a small, compacted stone dust ADA accessible parking area along Colonel Brown Road and develop a loop trail on this property that connects to three miles of hiking trails on the adjacent ALC Dutka Preserve.
Project Name: Camp Laurel Sponsor: Avalonia Land Conservancy and Trust for Public Land Location: Clubhouse Road, Lebanon Grant Amount: $1,365,000.00 Size: 352.89 Acres Description: This former Girl Scout Camp is the largest unpreserved parcel in Lebanon. The Girl Scouts will retain a portion of the property with continued access to the remainder, together with the public. Recreational opportunities include swimming, kayaking, sailing, hiking, horseback riding, and cross-country skiing. The mostly forested property contains 55 acres of wetlands, the headwaters of the Ten Mile River and Stiles Pond. The waterbodies, undeveloped shorelines, and wetlands are crucial for maintaining biodiversity for species dependent on vernal pools and forest habitats, and function as natural sponges for precipitation, control runoff, filter contaminants and provide groundwater recharge. This acquisition will safeguard a significant ecological corridor that links the core forest of Mono Pond State Park with other nearby forested lands. The connectivity supports wildlife migration and resilience in the face of climate change, ensuring the protection of diverse habitats across the region. The property’s six-mile multi-use trail network is proximate to the Air Line State Park Trail. The Town of Lebanon hopes to expand its recreational resources by connecting this property to the Air Line State Park Trail.
Project Name: Raymond & Althea Main Conservation Area Sponsor: Avalonia Land Conservancy, Inc. (ALC) Location: 173-175 Stoddards Wharf Road, Ledyard Grant Amount: $182,000.00 Size: 30.3 Acres Description: This property is a key connector parcel for habitat protection, greenway establishment and trail connectivity (via the Glacial Park Trail Connector and Tri-Town Trail). It features over 30% farmland soils in level fields that were once part of a 1000-acre farm used for grazing sheep, evidenced by a long stone tunnel under nearby Avery Hill Road Extension. An inclined upslope wooded area includes the glacial moraine edge with extensive large erratics. Passive recreation opportunities include hiking, mountain biking, equestrian and birdwatching, as well as snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. ALC will seek funding for the installation of accessible trails that comply with the Forest Service Trail Accessibility Guidelines and at least one ADA accessible parking space. ALC will provide ADA-compatible events including amplified guided walks, augmented by live sonograms of bird calls and periodic sign language interpretive walks.
Project Name: Shiloh Preserve Sponsor: Avalonia Land Conservancy (ALC) Location: Williams Street, New London Grant Amount: $195,000.00 + $32,950.00 in incidental costs Size: 22.85 Acres Description: This forested property on Soldier Hill is adjacent to the I-95 and Route 32 interchange. The 750-acre Connecticut College Arboretum property abuts this property to the north. Briggs Brook bisects the parcel, so this acquisition will protect the biodiversity and watershed as the impacts of climate change intensify. There are remnants of an abandoned quarry, old stone walls and pre- and Revolutionary War historic and cultural value for educational purposes. The main entrance is on Williams Street, which passes through the Hodges Square neighborhood and is linked to downtown New London via a bike lane, public transit, and a sidewalk. The parcel will be jointly managed by ALC and the Connecticut College Arboretum. They will establish hiking trails for passive recreational use and provide educational opportunities for the residents of New London and all who visit. The City of New London is a distressed municipality, with the least amount of open space per capita in all of Connecticut.
Project Name: Gary Kincaid Property Sponsor: Avalonia Land Conservancy (ALC) Location: 51 Babcock Road, North Stonington Grant Amount: $300,000.00 + $32,150.00 in incidental costs Size: 100 Acres Description: This property features rolling topography with a mixture of second growth hardwoods, bedrock ridgelines, pastures, and riparian wetlands draining to the Shunock River. It is westerly of and contiguous with ALC’s Babcock and Erisman Preserves that total 136.34 acres of protected woodlands. This is the second largest of the 19 parcels identified as conservation priorities in the Town of North Stonington’s 2023 Plan of Conservation and Development. The parcel includes an onsite pond with two brook drainages, a pasture and woodlands. The existing roads will serve as public access trails, connecting the adjacent preserve trails to this property. ALC will add an off-street, ADA accessible parking lot on the Babcock Road frontage, providing access to trails on the subject and adjacent ALC Preserves.
Project Name: Harlow Conservation Area Sponsor: Avalonia Land Conservancy (ALC) Location: 36 Butlertown Road, Waterford Grant Amount: $552,500.00 Size: 165.3 Acres Description: This parcel contains a large expanse of intact upland and riparian forested communities in a core forest area of northwest Waterford, in the Oil Mill Brook watershed. Willys Meadow Brook flows through the parcel, a perennial headwater tributary to the Niantic River. Preservation of this property will help protect the quality of the Oil Mill Brook watershed, Willys Meadow Brook and the Niantic River. The property contains Beaver Pond and a large, forested swamp, which supports a great blue heron rookery. The wetlands and riparian corridors in this watershed ranked high on the Conservation Priority Index developed as part of the Niantic River Watershed Protection Plan. ALC will create an off-street public and ADA accessible parking area off Butlertown Road with access to the onsite trail network. Passive recreational opportunities include hiking, (leashed) dog walking, biking, equestrian on appropriate pathways, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. Hunting will also be allowed, within the confines of a management plan, to be completed after the acquisition.
