CT Awards Ridgefield $42K Grant To Preserve Open Space

RIDGEFIELD, CT — The town has been gifted with a $42,000 grant as part of a state initiative to protect and preserve open space lands.

The award is part of $6.2 million in total funding cross Connecticut, including $5.5 million to support 29 grants toward the purchase of nearly 3,000 acres of land, plus an additional 5 grants totaling more than $700,000 for distressed communities to promote the use of open space in urban settings.

The "Bear Mountain Open Space" project in Ridgefield is sponsored by the town's Conservation Commission, and covers 13.8 acres. The acquisition of this land will connect a 3-acre parcel of town-owned open space to the 386-acre Hemlock Hills open space preserve. It will also help the town reach its goal of protecting 30 percent of the town's land mass as protected open space.

The property is mostly wooded and contains native tree and shrub species including American beech, black birch, hickory, blueberry, and mountain laurel. It is part of the Still River Watershed. The parcel consists predominantly of a steeper forested slope that drains into Miry Brook.

The public will be able to access the property through a proposed trail that ascends and runs along the northern peak of Bear Mountain affording views of Danbury and northern Fairfield County.

The grants are authorized under the state's Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Program and the Urban Green and Community Garden Program, which are administered by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and assist local governments, land trusts, and water companies in purchasing land to protect as open space.

"These natural assets are valuable as we attract and retain residents who are increasingly looking for varied recreational opportunities where they work, play, and live," DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said. "No single entity can accomplish the critical goal of protecting our lands with significant conservation values now and for future generations. We need continued cooperation of land trusts, our towns and cities, and conservation-minded citizens to build upon existing and form new partnerships and new approaches to protecting open space."

These most recent acquisitions bring the total land in Connecticut designated as state or local open space to more than 512,000 acres – approximately more than three quarters of the way toward the state’s goal of having 673,210 acres designated as open space.

DEEP’s 2021 grant rounds for both of these grant programs are now underway, with applications due by September 30, 2021. These programs use funding from the Community Investment Act and state bond funds and require matches by the grant recipient and stipulations that the land be protected by a conservation and public recreation easement, ensuring that the property is forever protected for public use and enjoyment. Projects are evaluated by statutorily defined parameters and ranked, according to natural resource and recreational value, and natural area resiliency and adaptation to mitigate climate change. Updated applications for the 2021 grant round are available on DEEP’s Open Space website.