CLCC’s report, “Connecticut Conservation Land Trusts & Affordable Housing: Current Status and Recommendations,” offers a fresh perspective on how land trusts can help address Connecticut’s housing crisis while advancing their conservation missions.
The report highlights a growing interest among Connecticut’s conservation land trusts to engage in affordable housing efforts—from building partnerships with community land trusts to supporting projects near conserved lands. It outlines key recommendations for overcoming barriers, including better information sharing, purposeful collaboration, and policy reforms to support dual goals of housing and land conservation.
Strong, well-crafted conservation easements are essential for protecting land in perpetuity. This collection of model easements provides land trusts with a solid foundation for drafting agreements that are legally sound, adaptable, and enforceable. Whether you’re working on a new easement or ensuring compliance with best practices, these resources offer expert-vetted guidance to get you and your attorney started on drafting a conservation easement.
CLCC’s Anatomy of a Land Transaction is a seven-part webinar series designed to give land trust staff and board members a practical, well-rounded foundation in the core components of land conservation deals. Each session features expert presenters covering key topics—from project selection, appraisals, and environmental due diligence, to surveys, baseline documentation, closings, and post-closing responsibilities—with plenty of tools and resources to take back to your organization.
Balancing affordable housing with land conservation doesn’t have to be a trade-off. This guide from the Hudson Valley Alliance for Housing & Conservation offers actionable strategies for integrating housing and open space planning at the local level. With tips on zoning reform, community preservation funds, and intermunicipal collaboration, it’s a smart resource for land trusts and municipalities navigating growth, equity, and sustainability. Great for sparking productive partnerships between housing and conservation advocates.
This toolkit helps land trusts and community groups implement greening projects—like parks, trails, or green infrastructure—without displacing the very communities they aim to serve. Packed with case studies, planning templates, and anti-displacement strategies, it offers practical guidance for centering equity in environmental work. Ideal for organizations committed to inclusive, community-led conservation.
As demand for renewable energy grows, so does the challenge of siting projects in ways that protect open space, wildlife habitat, and working lands. This page contains a series or resources that explore the intersection of solar, wind, and other renewables with land conservation, offering guidance on policy considerations, best practices, and strategies for responsible siting. Land trusts can use these resources to navigate the complex balance between clean energy development and protecting the landscapes we value.
The 2024 CLCC Winter Summit brought together state, regional, and local leaders to explore land use through a holistic, cross-sector lens. Panelists shared insights on planning and funding programs that can drive collaboration between land conservation, affordable housing, and farmland access initiatives. The discussions highlighted opportunities to align policies and resources, fostering more integrated and sustainable land-use solutions across Connecticut communities.
New England’s forests are critical in mitigating climate change, already sequestering large amounts of carbon each year and they have the potential to do much more. The 2022 Highstead report outlines five complementary strategies for enhancing forest-based climate solutions: preventing deforestation, creating reserves, improving forest management, promoting mass timber use, and increasing urban tree cover. These actions could help maximize forests’ potential to reduce carbon emissions and meet climate goals
As climate change accelerates, land conservation is a powerful tool for building resilience—protecting ecosystems, reducing climate risks, and supporting communities. This curated set of resources from The Nature Conservancy, a leader in resilience and conservation science, offers practical guidance on climate adaptation, nature-based solutions, and strategies for integrating resilience into land protection.
This handbook outlines a parcel prioritization analysis developed for the Weantinoge Heritage Land Trust (now Northwest CT Land Conservancy) to guide land conservation in Litchfield County and Sherman, CT. Using data-driven methods, it evaluates factors like climate resilience, habitat quality, water resources, and connectivity to inform conservation priorities. With a repeatable GIS-based model, land trusts can adjust priorities over time to ensure they are protecting the most ecologically significant lands.