News

Land trusts know that nature and farm viability doesn’t stop at town borders or state lines. They see, more than ever, the value of preventing land fragmentation, protecting wildlife corridors, and creating greenways.

They understand the need to take care of the land they have been entrusted to protect. That’s why so many land trusts are assessing how they can work together regionally to continue to expand, diversify, and sustain their missions and work in perpetuity.

CLCC’s Advanced Collaboration and Merger Assistance Program is there to help. This past year we’ve provided funding and assistance to land trusts to explore collaborative opportunities in multiple regions across the state. The results are inspiring.

The successful merger of Aspetuck Land Trust and Monroe Land Trust and Tree Conservancy is a great example of taking a fresh approach to conserve more land.

“We realized we can protect more land, together, because we know that our combined efforts will inspire more people, and allow us to access more resources when opportunities arise,” said Monroe’s Barbara Thomas.

Together, the combined land trust will share the vision of a “Green Corridor Initiative” expanded across five towns—Easton, Weston, Fairfield, Westport, and now, Monroe.

In the Northeast, the board of Joshua’s Trust worked through the collaboration process and identified an opportunity to expand their stewardship capacity in order to provide services for neighboring land trusts.

Likewise, the Lower Connecticut River Land Trust, a long-standing regional organization, sees an opportunity to be a service provider for local land trusts.

Finally, in the Farmington River Valley, 14 organizations came together around a common vision to protect the watershed. After multiple conversations the group is pursuing the development of a Regional Conservation Partnership. Several are also exploring a merger to strengthen their conservation impact.

It’s this type of land trust creativity, cooperation, and forethought that’s helping to accelerate the pace and diversity of land conservation efforts in Connecticut. We are delighted to assist in these efforts at the request of land trusts across the state.

Funding for coaching and discussions was provided by the Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation and community supporters. Thank you to Danosky & Associates who assisted in facilitating these projects.

We’d love to hear from you

If your land trust is interested in exploring merger or other collaborative options with another organization, give us a call. We are happy to assist and may be able to provide funding to help facilitate the process.