We’re Co-Sponsoring This Year’s CLCC Land Conservation Conference

My colleague Anthony Zemba and I are looking forward to spending a good part of Saturday, March 23, at the Connecticut Land Conservation Council’s 29th annual conference, which this year is titled “Can Open Space Be Permanently Protected?”

Connecticut Audubon Society, which owns 2,600 acres of conservation land, is a longtime member of the CLCC and has participated in its conference in the past. This year our Conservation Services program, which Anthony heads, is a co-sponsor of the event.  

The CLCC serves as an umbrella organization for the 137 land trusts in Connecticut. Its executive director, Amy Paterson, is among a small group of leading conservation advocates in Hartford and has put together an ad hoc committee called the State Land Working Group, which I’m a member of, to advocate for better land conservation policies.

Connecticut Audubon Society is believes strongly that permanent open space protection requires scientifically-based habitat conservation and management. Our Conservation Services staff recently completed a landmark plan to help Aspetuck Land Trust protect its 1009-acre Trout Brook Valley Preserve. We’re also just starting a habitat management planning project with the Norwalk Land Trust.  

The conference will be at Wesleyan University, in Middletown. The CLCC is offering workshops throughout the day in seven broad areas, including the basics of transactions, advocacy, legal issues, and stewardship.

I’ll be a panelist for a communications workshop called “Finding Local Partners and Building Membership.”

Registration is still open. There’s more information about the organization and the conference on the CLCC website.

— Tom Andersen, director of communications and community outreach