Chester Land Trust: Stewardship

THE CHESTER LAND TRUST

Chester, Connecticut

Connecticut has over 137 Land Trusts – the third most trusts in the country. Most of the CT Land Trusts are single town, non-profit organizations that rely on volunteers to actively manage and conserve open space to preserve the land in perpetuity.

In Chester, The Land Trust has 14 land/wetlands parcels of preserves and 3 easements that represent our unique environment. Land Conservation defines our community and protects these limited resources for future generations. The obligation of each Land Trust is to monitor and maintain a management plan for each parcel of land. There are stewards assigned to each preserve and easement that conduct annual inspections of the site they monitor. Periodic clean up committees are organized to conduct clean-up site visits to remove invasive plants and trash. A steward report is submitted annually to the Land Trust Trustees to determine if any repairs or improvements need to be done to a specific site. Most of the current land preserves are not accessible for public use and are to remain in their natural state.

If you have any interest in learning more about volunteering or stewardship of the properties owned by the Chester Land Trust, please contact one of the stewardship co-chairs. Bill Meyers, Ph 860-526-5921 or Jenny Kitsen, Ph 860-526-2402.