Nature preserve had been eyed for a superstore

The property, a donation to Avalonia, will be called the Leo Antonino Preserve in honor of Mr. Antonino’s tradition of giving back to the community. The land will be conserved in its natural state and open to the public for passive recreation.

Steve Fagin’s article mentions the legal battle that took place over developing the property (to build a Walmart) that ended when a Superior Court judge ruled in 2008 that Groton’s Planning Commission properly rejected the project because of potential harm to Groton Reservoir. The property’s streams flow into the reservoir, located less than 1/10th of a mile away.  A major environmental issue is the runoff of parking-lot pollutants (oil, grease, heavy metals and sediment) into waterways.

read The Day article (by Steve Fagin)