West Hartford Land Trust joins neighbors to form Traprock Ridge Land Conservancy

By Natalie K. Pollock

This merger meant business—for nature lovers.

“At their very best, land trusts should be about ordinary people protecting the places they love,” said William Conlon, former board member for the National Trust for Public Land. He is a New Haven native and Yale graduate, and a MacArthur Fellowship recipient. He would applaud the West Hartford Land Trust’s merger with three nearby land trust organizations to share resources with the goal of conserving more land and protecting the environment for generations to come.

The resulting Traprock Ridge Land Conservancy has also hired its first executive director, Kathy Blachowski, with a background in land conservation and nonprofit management. She has worked in land management and protection, as well as in environmental education for the Connecticut Land Conservation Council, which provides training and policies for long-term conservation efforts statewide.

Kathy Blachowski, the land conservancy’s new executive director, and David Sagers, its treasurer and chair of the Sustainable West Hartford Commission, take a few minutes to discuss efforts in West Hartford to preserve land. Photo by Natalie K. Pollock

The Traprock Ridge Land Conservancy (TRLC) was established in 2023, and over the last few years it has orchestrated the merger of the East Granby Land Trust, the Wintonbury (Bloomfield) Land Trust, the West Hartford Land Trust, and the Windsor Land Trust, which was dissolved into the Traprock organization.

According to the Conservancy’s website, “the land trust’s mission includes protecting the traprock ridge shared by the four towns and the Salmon Brook, Farmington River, Park River and Connecticut River watersheds.”

The resulting TRLC protects 45 properties covering 642 acres comprised of forests and wetlands, meadow habitats, hiking trails and active farms. The website states “the larger, regional organization is better positioned to conserve more properties in perpetuity for the benefit of wildlife and the enjoyment of our communities. The land trusts received a grant from The Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation to study the feasibility of merging and to develop a plan.”

Blachowski added, “We want to protect land. We all rely on open space. We also want to protect working farms. Some owners have given us property deeds or conservation easements stipulating in the deed that their land will always be a working farm.”

A picturesque view of an eight-acre parcel on Still Road comprised of forest and wetlands. Named the Orchard Preserve, it was donated in 2012 by Camille J. Daqui and has become a protected habitat for birds and other wildlife in a residential area. Submitted photo

David Sagers is TRLC’s treasurer and chairs the finance committee. He served as president of the former West Hartford Land Trust. He is currently involved with affordable housing in the town.

“It’s a state priority to preserve farmland. We are all food chain dependent. Also, the general standard (as stated in the town’s plan for conservation) is clean water and clean air. This program covers those who live within a 10-minute walk of West Hartford. But we need growth (in real estate development) to keep the taxes down,” said Sagers.

TRLC works directly with the different towns it covers, and in West Hartford they are trying to get involved on the town government level, but there is a limited amount of open land available to preserve so it comes mostly from donations by landowners, according to Blachowski.

Wojan Woods Preserve is an example of an urban micro-forest and is the only land trust property with trails. It is tucked into a neighborhood between the Elmwood and Wolcott Park areas and was donated by the Wojan-Steenburgh family in 2020. More than 200 native plants have been planted on the wetland portion. Submitted photo

“West Hartford is so desirable now that if a developer comes along, the developer is involved with the owner before the property goes up for sale. For example, regarding the former UConn campus, we advocate for how much of the land can be preserved. Owners can donate the value of land to offset their tax liability,” said Sagers.

Land trusts and conservation easements are vehicles for estate planning. They usually involve land to be used for conservation, wildlife areas, or real estate that could be developed. The grantor owns the land and creates the trust to be transferred and maintained by a land trust. The land trust conservancy is the steward of the land, ensuring that these lands are protected, and the conservation values are enhanced. It maintains the property, organizing work parties to eradicate invasive plant species, keep trails clear, and record any changes.

An owner could create a conservation land trust which involves giving up some rights over the land’s use and its development. The goal of this vehicle is usually to protect wildlife, historical or cultural sites, and natural resources.

At a stewardship work party in the Clark Preserve, (from left to right) Dorian Olivera, Larry Kruger, Doug McIntosh, Margaret Zorn, Doug and Ann Rankin volunteered in April to clear out invasives and debris fallen from trees. It is the result of several donations from nearby homeowners to save the land from development. Submitted photo

With a conservation easement the landowner can donate their development rights to the trust. They can also retain some ownership and usage rights such as farming, but in the process ensure that the property remains undeveloped forever, meaning for generations, and realize a tax break.

“We don’t have a good sense of how much the public in West Hartford wants to conserve more land. There are already several parks and the MDC properties (that they enjoy). And in West Hartford we will never win versus a real estate developer. Many towns have built-in ordinances regarding what open land to set aside and what to plant. There are 169 towns in Connecticut and 137 land trusts,” said Sagers.

TRLC focuses on putting out information on the best practices for preserving land for public enjoyment.

“We have an education and outreach committee to get to students and the public about the future of our land over generations. We recently held a program with Doug Tallamy as the lecturer whose main message was that we cannot put aside enough land to feed people,” said Blachowski.

Doug Tallamy co-founded Homegrown National Park to encourage people to plant native plants. He is an entomologist, conservationist and professor at the University of Delaware who focuses on understanding the relationship between native plants and wildlife.

“We have put in 1200 volunteer hours from the land conservation and stewardship committee. Plus, we get in-kind donations to maintain the properties and keep the invasives out and put the natives in,” said the executive director.

TRLC also benefits from support from the Hartford Audubon Society, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for urban forestry and open farmland, and a significant amount of member donations. The organization is the recipient of several grants, as well as support from Sustainable West Hartford, a volunteer town commission that focuses on clean energy and the environment. TRLC also organizes events and lectures in West Hartford for the public.

In addition, it has given out 1,000 seeds each year to help forests regenerate themselves as part of the West Hartford Tree Project.

“We have lost 20 percent of our trees due to weather, development and aging. In the Wojan Woods Preserve especially, the trees are dying and it takes a long time for them to grow back,” said Sagers.

TRLC recently highlighted the work of three interns from East Granby for their outreach and stewardship efforts over the last two years. The citation said: “Their work has benefitted the TRLC and the community and inspired them to become a part of a new generation of conservation advocates.”

Blachowski added, “It’s resume-building for them. They take part on the board and committees such as governance and finance. And they get involved with property cleanup plantings.”

Varshny Sriganesh said of her internship: “I like giving back to the community. I really appreciate TRLC’s mission to preserve nature and help species thrive.”

Sree Kolla suggested: “It’s great to experience nature and diversity, but if we don’t protect it, future generations won’t be able to experience it.”

And Sebi Prescott added: “I’ll definitely have an eye open for the environment and our relationship with it, bringing that into my studies and future thinking.”

As Margaret Mead, cultural anthropologist, author and speaker, once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: it’s the only thing that ever has.” WHL

Traprock Ridge Conservancy, P.O. Box 734, Bloomfield CT 06002 to donate or sign up for the email newsletter. To contact Kathy Blachowski, go to director@trlandconservancy.org.