NEWS
RELEASE
November 10, 2006
Contacts:
- Susan Masino, Keep The Woods; (860) 651-6790
- Melissa Spear, The Trust for Public Land, (203) 777-7367
Simsbury Voters Approve Purchase
of Ethel Walker Land
On November 7, the residents of Simsbury demonstrated strong support
for open space preservation, voting to spend $7 million towards the
purchase of 336 acres of property owned by The Ethel Walker School. The
vote marks the end of a months-long grassroots campaign to raise the
Town’s share of the purchase price for conservation of a total of 427
acres of land. A non-refundable $1 million deposit, approved
resoundingly at a Special Town Meeting in October, gives the town an
option to purchase an additional 91 acres owned by The Ethel Walker
School for $3.1 million in 2012 and 2014. The town’s deposit will
prevent development of the 91 acres during the option period.
The Ethel Walker property is widely recognized as one of the town’s
most important natural landscapes. The property includes the Stratton
Brook Aquifer, which supplies over 60% of the town’s water supply, and
is located within a sensitive portion of the aquifer protection area.
In addition to the critical water resources on the property, the Ethel
Walker land also contains exceptional diversity of habitat and lies at
the heart of more than 1400 acres of contiguous open space. The parcel
connects to Stratton Brook State Park, Massacoe State Forest, Town
Forest Park, and numerous other private lands and is considered the
cornerstone of Simsbury and Farmington Valley Open Space programs.
Susanna Jones, Head of The Ethel Walker School, expressed the School’s
gratitude to all those involved in the preservation effort in a
statement released on election night. “We are overjoyed with this
outcome! We believe that preserving this land is good for Simsbury,
good for the earth, and good for Walker’s. We are deeply indebted to
the amazing volunteers from Keep the Woods, to The Trust for Public
Land, and to the town officials who supported this effort. And, of
course, we are grateful to our Simsbury neighbors who supported this
measure. Thank you!”
Diane Nash, member of the grassroots group Keep the Woods that has
supported preservation of the property, said in a statement: “All
Simsbury citizens – those current residents and those who will live
here in the future – will benefit from the historic decision to
preserve and protect our resources. We will soon realize how small a
price we paid for the value we received.”
With the town’s share of the funding secured, the efforts now turn to
the private fundraising campaign. The Trust for Public Land, a national
nonprofit land conservation organization, has committed to raising an
additional $2.75 million in private donations by the March 2007 closing
to support the first phase of the acquisition. The organization has
raised approximately $1 million to date, including a generous
contribution of $500,000 that was given anonymously. The Trust for
Public Land announced the gift last month.
Melissa Spear, Project Manager for The Trust for Public Land, said in a
statement, “We are pleased that the voters of Simsbury recognized the
conservation value of the Ethel Walker Woods and the importance of open
space protection. After clearing this recent hurdle, The Trust for
Public Land can now focus its efforts on raising the remainder of the
private funds needed to permanently protect this remarkable property.”
The Ethel Walker Woods conservation project received other positive
news last week, when the governor announced the awarding of the recent
round of Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition grants. The
conservation project was ranked second in the entire state and received
the maximum award of $450,000. This was the third grant awarded to the
property by the Department of Environmental Protection, for a total of
$917,000, and will help defray the cost to the town of the acquisition.
Susan Masino, a member of Keep the Woods, added, “Over the last month,
we have seen the value of the Ethel Walker property affirmed, twice by
the people of Simsbury and in a recent grant award by the state of
Connecticut. We are delighted to see this strong commitment to
protecting open space, safeguarding our water supply, and preserving
the rich natural resources on this property.”
Tom Herlihy and Linda Schofield, both winning their respective races
for State Senator and State Representative for Simsbury, have also been
vocal supporters of the conservation project and pledged that they will
continue to work at the state level to see a successful outcome. Linda
Schofield stated, “Both Tom and I recognize the great value of this
land and are looking forward to a bipartisan effort to bring additional
state funds to this purchase. The voters of Simsbury have made an
important decision this week and we will do all we can in the capitol
to support them in this process.”