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| Founded | August 7, 1967 |
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| Founder | Barlow Cutler Wotton |
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Key people | Paul Newman |
| Website | AspetuckLandTrust.org |
The Aspetuck Land Trust is a nonprofit organization founded in 1967 that seeks to preserve open spaces in the towns of Westport, Fairfield, Weston and Easton in Fairfield County, Connecticut. In 2011 it was reported that the trust covered an area of 1,700 acres over 43 sites which include public trails. [1]
In 2011 Joan duPont donated 34 acres owned since 1982. [2]
In 2011 the trust acquired the Trout Brook Valley lands in Easton. [3] Paul Newman is recognized as responsible for lobbying the Connecticut governor for assisting with the funds for the purchase. [4] Part of this land is a state park known as Trout Brook Valley State Park Reserve.
In 2010 it was reported that the trust had preserved hiking trails arounds the Saugatuck river. [5]
Easton is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,605. Easton contains the historic district of Aspetuck and the Plattsville census-designated place. It is a part of the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, the New York metropolitan statistical area, and is bordered by the towns of Fairfield to the south, Redding to the north, Weston to the west, and Monroe and Trumbull to the east.
Redding is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,765 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region.
Weston is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,354 at the 2020 census and had the highest median income in the state of Connecticut. The town is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region. The town is served by Route 57 and Route 53, both of which run through the town center. About 19% of the town's workforce commutes to New York City, about 45 miles (72 km) to the southwest.
The Connecticut Lakes are a group of lakes in Coos County, northern New Hampshire, United States, situated along the headwaters of the Connecticut River. They are accessed via the northernmost segment of U.S. Route 3, between the village of Pittsburg and the Canada port of entry south of Chartierville, Quebec. The lakes are located within the boundaries of Pittsburg, but are far from the town center. Connecticut Lakes State Forest adjoins them.
The Saugatuck Reservoir is a reservoir in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, that straddles the border between the towns of Redding, Weston, and Easton. Its completion is marked by the creation of the Samuel P. Senior dam of the Saugatuck River in January 1942, and provides water to several of the nearby towns. The reservoir is surrounded by the Centennial Watershed State Forest and a small section of the Trout Brook Valley State Park Reserve on the southeast end of the reservoir. The Saugatuck Reservoir utilizes an uncontrolled spillway adjacent to the Samuel P. Senior dam that effectively limits the maximum water level. There is also a concrete levee positioned on the southeastern side of the reservoir that prevents water from flooding Trout Brook Valley.
Aspetuck is a village, which in Connecticut is an unincorporated community on the Aspetuck River, in Fairfield County, Connecticut, mostly in the town of Easton but extending also into Weston. It is significant for being the location of the Aspectuck Historic District, a well-preserved collection of houses from the 18th and 19th centuries. The area was settled in the 17th century. It was a long-time home of Helen Keller. According to a New York Times real estate section article, "The district gets its name from the Aspetuck Indians, who lived along the river. In 1670, they sold the land to English settlers for cloth, winter wheat and maize valued at $.36." Weston was incorporated in 1787, and Easton was split out and incorporated in 1845.
Cannondale is a census-designated place (CDP) within the town of Wilton in Fairfield County, Connecticut. It had a population of 141 at the 2010 census. The neighborhood consists of many old homes on large, almost rural lots now largely wooded. The English first settled the land in the 17th century. At the center of Cannondale is Cannon Crossing, a small shopping village of boutiques and restaurants made up of 19th-century buildings restored by actress June Havoc in the late 1970s on the east side of Cannondale Railroad Station. Both are part of Cannondale Historic District, which encompasses the central part of Cannondale and most of its significant historical buildings.
The Nipmuck Trail is a Blue-Blazed hiking trail system which meanders through 34.5 miles (55.5 km) of forests in northeast Connecticut. It is maintained by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association and is considered one of the Blue-Blazed hiking trails. There are two southern trail heads in the south of the town of Mansfield, Connecticut. The southwestern terminus is at a road shoulder parking place on Puddin Lane, and the southeastern terminus is a DEEP parking lot on North Windham Road at the southeast corner of Mansfield Hollow State Park. The northern terminus is at the north end of Breakneck Pond along the Massachusetts border in Nipmuck State Forest. Camping permits may be obtained for up to five separate locations for backpacking.
The Blue-Blazed Hiking Trail (BBHT) system, managed by the Connecticut Forest & Park Association (CFPA), and the related trail systems documented in the two-volume 19th Edition of the "Connecticut Walk Book" comprise over 800 miles of hiking trails in Connecticut.
The Aspetuck River is a 17.0-mile-long (27.4 km) river in the U.S. state of Connecticut. The river rises in the hills located in Huntington State Park in Bethel, with a watershed of approximately 430 acres (170 ha). The river flows generally southerly through Redding, Connecticut, to the Aspetuck Reservoir, and finally into the Saugatuck River in Westport, Connecticut and then into the Long Island Sound. It flows through the village of Aspetuck at an average depth of 2.5 feet (0.76 m). The word Aspetuck can be translated as "river originating at the high place" in an Algonquian language.
The Pequonnock River is a 16.7-mile-long (26.9 km) waterway in eastern Fairfield County, Connecticut. Its watershed is located in five communities, with the majority of it located within Monroe, Trumbull, and Bridgeport. The river has a penchant for flooding, particularly in spring since the removal of a retention dam in Trumbull in the 1950s. There seems to be a sharp difference of opinion among historians as to just what the Indian word Pequonnock signifies. Some insist it meant cleared field or open ground; others are sure it meant broken ground; while a third group is certain it meant place of slaughter or place of destruction.
The Paugussett Trail is a 14-mile (23 km) Blue-Blazed hiking trail "system" in the lower Housatonic River valley in Fairfield County and, today, is entirely in Shelton and Monroe, Connecticut. Much of the trail is in Indian Well State Park and the Town of Monroe's Webb Mountain Park. The mainline trail is primarily southeast to northwest with three short side or spur trails.
The Lillinonah Trail is a 5.9-mile (9.5 km) Blue-Blazed hiking trail "system" in the lower Housatonic River valley in Fairfield County and, today, is entirely in Newtown. Most of the trail is in the upper block of Paugussett State Forest.
The Aspetuck Valley Trail is a 5.9-mile (9.5 km) Blue-Blazed hiking trail in the Aspetuck River Valley area of Fairfield County in the towns of Newtown, Easton and Redding Connecticut.
The Zoar Trail is a 6.5-mile (10.5 km) Blue-Blazed hiking trail "system" in the lower Housatonic River valley in Fairfield County, Connecticut and is entirely in the Sandy Hook section of Newtown in the lower block of Paugussett State Forest.
The Connecticut Audubon Society, founded in 1898 and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to "conserving Connecticut’s environment through science-based education and advocacy focused on the state’s bird populations and habitats." Connecticut Audubon Society is independent of the National Audubon Society (NAS), just as in the neighboring state of Massachusetts, where Massachusetts Audubon Society is independent of the NAS.
Beaver Brook State Park is an undeveloped public recreation area covering 401 acres (162 ha) in the towns of Windham and Chaplin, Connecticut. The state park encompasses Bibbins Pond, also known as Beaver Brook Pond, as well as the acreage northward as far as the Air Line State Park Trail, which forms the park's northern boundary. The park is a walk-in facility, open for hunting and trout fishing, managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Trout Brook Valley State Park Reserve is a 300-acre (120 ha) parcel owned by the state of Connecticut that is part of the larger Trout Brook Valley Preserve, located in Easton, Connecticut. The full conservation area covers 1,009 acres (408 ha) and comprises several contiguous parcels in the towns of Easton and Weston, bordering the southeast corner of the Saugatuck Reservoir. It is managed by the Aspetuck Land Trust. The state park portion of the preserve offers opportunities for hiking and hunting.
Becket Hill State Park Reserve is a public recreation area lying adjacent to Nehantic State Forest in the town of Lyme, Connecticut. The state park is as an undeveloped, walk-in park totaling 260 acres (110 ha) with no officially listed activities. It is managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Centennial Watershed State Forest is a Connecticut state forest of more than 15,000 acres with larger parcels located in the towns of Easton, Newtown, Redding, and Weston. Dozens of other properties are strung throughout much of Southwestern part of the state. In 2002, the lands were acquired from the Aquarion Water Company by the state in partnership with The Nature Conservancy. Those three entities continue to manage the property by committee. The forest was named in honor of the hundredth anniversary of the state forest system.
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