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| Land Preservation |
Steep Rock's board of trustees and the Preservation Committee have identified the following mission and priorities in its acquisition of land.
Bee Brook emerges from Meeker Swamp.
Purpose: to protect the rural character of Washington and to sustain a healthy environment through the conservation of open land, forest land, wetlands, ponds, brooks, etc. in their natural state or for use in agriculture.
- Acquire easements on land that is currently farmed or suitable for farming in an effort to preserve farming and farmlands in Washington.
- Acquire land and easements on properties contiguous to existing Steep Rock properties (such as Steep Rock reservation, Hidden Valley, Meeker Swamp, Waramaug’s Rock, etc,); secondly, contiguous to Seymour and Averill Farms’ property (of which the State has purchased the development rights).
- Acquire land and easements that protect Washington’s water resources, major rivers (Shepaug, Bantam and Aspetuck Rivers) and major streams (Bee Brook, Kirby Brook, Mallory Brook, Sprain Brook, Walker Brook, etc.) and the Lake Waramaug Watershed.
- Acquire land and easements that protect scenic views and historic sites/districts (such as Steep Rock, Waramaug’s Rock, the Shepaug River railroad bed, greens in village centers, ridgelines, etc.).
- Acquire land and easements for greenways and preservation corridors for public enjoyment where compatible with wildlife.
Open Space in Washington
Approximately 22% of Washington is now permanently protected open space. Of that, approximately 18% is owned by Steep Rock. The State of Connecticut has set a goal of preserving 21% of the State as open space. If the State is to meet its goal, rural towns will have to preserve much more of their land to compensate for heavily developed towns, which have little or no open space left to preserve. The Washington Open Space Steering Committee recommended in 2000 that Washington's goal be 30% protected open space within 15 years.
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Copyright © 2003-2008 Steep Rock Association, Inc. All rights reserved.
