The work party participants will meet at the McCann parking area at 9:00AM Sunday. Volunteers should bring work gloves as well as power drills, cordless drills, circular saws and measuring tapes if they have them. Rubber boots would also be good for those helping to set the boardwalk sections in place or removing the old bog bridges.  We will be cutting and assembling the 10 foot sections at Dufraine’s barnyard, then transporting them to the trail and setting them in place after removing the old bog bridge sections.  For further information or to sign up, contact  Richard Bailey at Dweezle-ct3@att.net or 860-559-3901 (cell). 

Celebrate National Trails Day (http://www.americanhiking.org/NTD.aspx) starting at Somers Town Hall to Bald Mountain by way of Soapstone Mountain. This will be a 10 mile hike with the option of ending at Soapstone ( 5 miles ) or at the McCann / Whitaker loop trail ( 1 mile ). Contact leader gpatsun@gmail.com, 860-763-4047.  Hike/strenuous/3miles, 5miles, and 10+miles.  Hike will follow some blue-blaze trails.  No park fee. Contact leader for rain information. Registration is appreciated. Hike starts at Somers Town Hall in Somers and leads into Stafford. Dogs on leashes are allowed. There are three distance options within this hike: three mile, five mile and ten+ mile. Hikers have the choice along the way how long they wish to hike. The three mile hike is appropriate for all levels, and the latter two are strenuous which include climbs up Soapstone Mt. and Bald Mt.   Somers Town Hall is located on the right-hand side on route 190 about 200 yards east from  from the 190/83 intersection. Hikers can be shuttled back to parking lot at the end of the five and ten mile mark .

No snow, fairly warm and a lovely day for a "walk through the woods."

Mid-December work party at Talcott Ravine.  Thank you to all who attended and cleared downed trees to make the trail safe.  If you are interested in volunteering for a work partyat Talcott Ravine or any of the NCLT properties, please contact nctlt@sbcglobal.net. 

The Northern Connecticut Land Trust properties page has been updated.  Each property page contains information related to the properties such as location,  google maps, naturalist's notes, brief explanation of acquisition and photos.   This is a work in progress and will continue to be updated. 

The "Tour de Land Trust"  for 2011 began with a hike on the Rail Trail between Valley Falls Park in Vernon to Talcottville.  40 hikers enjoyed the morning hike, taking photos and learning a bit about the history of the Valley Falls Area.  For wonderful photos of the event, check out the photo album on the Northern Connecticut Land Trust Facebook page, ("read more" will take you there).  Photos were taken by Al Sheridan. 

On February 14, 2011 the Northern Connecticut Land Trust held an event to thank the donors and contributors who collaborated and donated funds for the acquisition of the Talcott Ravine.  The event was held at the Talcottville Congregational Church.  Bill McGurk, President of Rockville Bank and William "Bill" Crawford, incoming President of Rockville Bank donated $2,000.00 to the Talcott Ravine closing costs fund completing the $10,000.00 closing cost drive required by the donor agreement.  Coffee and baked goods were donated by Dunkin Donuts (Route 83).  For photos see our Gallery page:

 John G. Talcott Jr. has donated a 20 acre parcel in the Talcottville Gorge area to the Northern Connecticut Land Trust. The trust paid $5,000 to help cover closing costs and other expenses with financial help from local organizations, including the Friends of Valley Falls, Vernon Citizens for Responsible Development, and Friends of the Hockanum River Linear Park. The Town of Vernon also contributed $5,000 for the purchase with money from the open space fund. This collaborative effort of various groups as well as the commitment from the Town of Vernon make this acquisition very special indeed.   For more of this article:

New Year’s Day hike sponsored by the Northern Connecticut Land Trust and the Scantic River Watershed Association. Hikers enjoyed beautiful preserved open space in Somers at the Schlaff and McCann properties.  Albert Grant lead the hike and 26 people (and one dog) attended. 

In March, 2010 the Northern Connecticut Land Trust acquired the 58-acre Moseley property in Ellington, costing  $185,000.00 shared by the State of Connecticut, the Bafflin Foundation, the Fields Pond Foundation, the town of Ellington, and the land trust. The land will be managed and owned by the Trust. Abutting the Nye-Holman State Forest, and sharing a boundary line with the town of Stafford, the forested site will remain as open space. The culmination of a series of acquisitions in 2010, the Trappe land in Somers (138 acres) and a conservation easement (136 acres) on the White Farm in Stafford has enabled the Land Trust to protect and preserve 1,280 acres in the towns of Somers, Stafford, Ellington, East Windsor, Enfield, Vernon and Tolland.