In Land We Trust: Growing Number Of Nonprofits Helping Preserve Vast Network Of Undeveloped Properties In State.

Byline: Steve Grant

Dec. 5--Thirty acres here, 100 acres there. Steadily over the years, tracts of valuable, undeveloped land in Connecticut cities and towns are being set aside -- permanently. These are not government lands, not state parks, not state forests, not even municipal open space land or parks, though state or local governments sometimes help with a grant of cash. These are lands set aside by private, nonprofit organizations called land trusts.Nearly 100,000 acres have been protected in Connecticut so far, and the acreage total is growing, though many people are unaware of the work the trusts do. "They don't have any idea," said Lisa Hageman, president of the Colchester Land Trust, one of the newest such trusts in the state.Nationwide and in Connecticut, private land trust landholdings are soaring. A new survey by the national Land Trust Alliance, the first in five years, shows dramatic growth in both the number of land trusts …

In Land We Trust: Growing Number Of Nonprofits Helping Preserve Vast Network Of Undeveloped Properties In State.

Byline: Steve Grant

Dec. 5--Thirty acres here, 100 acres there. Steadily over the years, tracts of valuable, undeveloped land in Connecticut cities and towns are being set aside -- permanently. These are not government lands, not state parks, not state forests, not even municipal open space land or parks, though state or local governments sometimes help with a grant of cash. These are lands set aside by private, nonprofit organizations called land trusts.Nearly 100,000 acres have been protected in Connecticut so far, and the acreage total is growing, though many people are unaware of the work the trusts do. "They don't have any idea," said Lisa Hageman, president of the Colchester Land Trust, one of the newest such trusts in the state.Nationwide and in Connecticut, private land trust landholdings are soaring. A new survey by the national Land Trust Alliance, the first in five years, shows dramatic growth in both the number of land trusts …