HARTFORD, Connecticut (WTIC radio)
It's anyone guess how much money President Trump wants to cut from government programs, however conservationists in Connecticut say there is a way to soften the economic blow if cuts are made in land conservation programs. The Hartford Courant reporting that protecting clean air and water, places for hunting, fishing, and quiet recreation, and wildlife habitat are but a few of the many benefits offered by Connecticut’s conservation lands.
To maintain and expand many of these preserves depends in part or in whole on federal dollars, which may now be at risk. But this possibility does not guarantee doom for the conservation movement. Instead, it is a call to action to individuals, land trusts, and philanthropic organizations to step up to fill the gap.
Northeast Wilderness Trust’s “Wildlands Partnership” illustrates one such example of how privately funded initiatives can insulate land conservation against the ebbs and flows of public funding. This innovative program gives local land trusts the financial and technical tools they need to conserve more land. Partner land trusts convey a “forever-wild” conservation easement, which acts as a second layer of legal protection on the parcel to preserve it in perpetuity, to Northeast Wilderness Trust.
The partnership is already supporting the protection of irreplaceable Connecticut landscapes. In just three years, the partnership has boosted the amount of “wildlands” in Connecticut by more than 5 percent.
