A tradition of generosity amongst several North Guilford land owners has been further enhanced via a recent designation of five acres by the Chandler family, securing a vital component of a larger area of preservation. The efforts of the Guilford Land Conservation Trust (GLCT), the town, and local landowners has resulted in the conservation of 24 acres loosely known as “County Road Fields.”

The area around County Road has a number of historical distinctions and also a long-term tradition of land donations and preservation designations, which has now grown even further with this final component that will connect several parcels into one cohesive area of preservation.

According to GLCT, County Road was the original east/west passage in North Guilford, prior to Route 80’s construction. On the eastern side of the road is the former Baldwin Dudley Grist and Saw Mill, which is now a private residence.

Closer to Route 77, the building currently used as the Shoreline Outdoor Education Center, 730 County Road, was built in 1913 for use as the North Guilford Consolidated School. This was the school in which the beloved teacher Melissa Jones taught, according to town records.

According to GLCT Chair Spencer Myer the pattern of generosity began in 1991 when Clarence Potter gave the town five acres of land next door to the school so that it could remain open space. Then, in 1991, GLCT received four acres on the south side of County Road from the estate of Charles M. Fenner.

Fenner was an original member of the GLCT Board of Directors and lived with his wife Elinor on County Road for many years.

This neighborhood legacy of conservation continued in 2004 with one of the most creative arrangements GLCT has been a part of, said Meyer, when a 13-acre property came up for sale. Caroline and Knox Chandler knew that a sale of their 13 acres would fundamentally alter this scenic area if it were to be developed, so along with other neighbors in the area, they met with Caroline Evans and Bill Bloss from GLCT to explore options and develop a cohesive plan for the acreage.

“This is one of our great examples, and there are others, of where landowners, neighbors, and the land trust all worked together to preserve the neighborhood and area of preservation. This is truly a great example of how neighbors who cherish an area can all work together to develop a plan,” Meyer said.

Neither the town nor the land trust could afford to simply purchase the land outright as resources were also needed for properties of high conservation value elsewhere in Guilford, according to Meyer. Undeterred, Caroline Chandler acted as the catalyst to bring adjacent landowners and other neighbors together to strategize, and ultimately the town purchased the properties that had been for sale and GLCT contributed by purchasing conservation easements on them.

Then just recently, the Chandlers donated conservation easements across their two smaller parcels along County Road, according to the GLCT. Shortly after that, at no cost to the land trust, neighbors, Sandy and Eric Glover conveyed to GLCT the right to place a conservation easement across their five-acre property after Sept. 1, 2020. (GLCT acted on this option with the new owners of the Glover property, Rebecca and Lewis Bower, in 2021.)

A conservation easement is a specific designation that land owners can place on their property. This designation still allows for sale of the property, but restricts development and subdividing, and in essence preserves a parcel’s conservation status permanently.

According to Meyer, much of County Road Fields is managed as open field habitat. The cost was divided roughly in thirds between the Town of Guilford, GLCT, and neighbors both adjacent and farther away who contributed more than $120,000.

“What’s special about this is it’s 24 acres all managed as open field and grasses and this creates a nice early successional habitat that is limited in Guilford. We have and appreciate our important wooded parcels that are critical for certain species, but open fields, open grasses, and former farm lands are unique and important also,” said Meyer. “So this is a big 24 acre contiguous area that is protected now forever in one area.”

Meyer said that in addition to the impressive neighborhood coordination, the County Road effort also highlights the strong working relationship that exists between the Town of Guilford the GLCT and, critically, the kind of work that a small local land trust can do when it is supported by its members and its community.

“This effort was the land owners, the land trust, and the town all simultaneously working together to recognize the importance of this area and figuring it out together how to make it all work out,” Meyer said. “One aspect I’d love to highlight is the fact that the land trust has really enjoyed a lot of public support from our neighbors and community members over the decades and often look to us to help with complicated transactions when they want to leave a legacy of conservation. This area is an example of how a community can work together to ensure the preservation of habitat. It is really gratifying for us as an organization to have such so community support for reinvestment in the community and to preserve for ecological and social benefits.”

It is important to note that the areas owned outright by the GLCT and by the town are open to the public, but the recently eased land is still held privately, which means not all of the acreage are public lands. Meyer stressed that anyone seeking to use the property understand the area and respect the rights of private property owners. At this time there is no plan to develop the area as a park.

Meyer also wanted residents to be aware that the GLCT is currently looking for volunteers.

“We are always looking for volunteers to adopt trails and to adopt properties to steward,” said Meyer.

For more information, visit the GLCT website at www.guilfordlandtrust.org or contract the trust by mail at P.O. Box 200 Guilford, CT 06437; byr email at info@guilfordlandtrust.org; or by phone at 203-457-9253.