First Project in Connecticut
Thanks to the generosity of Alison Orr-Andrawes, the Wilderness Trust now owns 85 acres in Falls Village in northwestern Connecticut. Alison's donation of land (and the stewardship funds necessary to care for it) protects a beautiful landscape with an outstanding mix of forest habitats including a mountain stream, rocky outcrops, quiet glades, and majestic oak and hemlock stands.
The property is located on Canaan Mountain, perched above Under Mountain Road, and represents a significant advance in the effort to protect the largest roadless area in Connecticut. The land is adjacent to Housatonic State Forest and the Canaan Mountain Natural Area Preserve (a state-designated forever-wild sanctuary) and fills a key gap in the protected areas mosaic on Canaan Mountain.
Ecologist Harry White of Colebrook, CT, Northeast Wilderness Trust's project director for the transaction, said, "Because old-growth forest was the most common pre-settlement habitat type and is now among the rarest, the only route to restoration is to create permanently protected forest refuges that will allow native trees to reach their age potential of 300 to 800 years. Thanks to Alison, this land will one day harbor many of these forest monarchs."
Alison and her husband Fikry Andrawes had always hoped that the land would eventually become part of the Canaan Mountain Natural Area Preserve, and asked Northeast Wilderness Trust last year to help them achieve this goal. The Trust hopes to transfer ownership of the preserve to the State of Connecticut while retaining a conservation easement guaranteeing the forever-wild status of the property.
According to NWT Executive Director Jim Northup, "This is an exceptional land donation that has protected a critical part of Canaan Mountain for the benefit of both wildlife and people within and beyond Falls Village. Alison's and Fikry's deep love of nature and commitment to restoring wildness on the land made working on this project a real and meaningful pleasure."
"We were delighted to work with Northeast Wilderness Trust on such an important initiative," said Alison. "I love the idea that the land is now protected forever."
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