The Wyndham Land Trust, Inc. Natural Surroundings P.O. Box 302 Pomfret Center, CT 06259-0302 WYNDHAM LAND TRUST, INC. • SINCE 1975 Conserving the Natural Resources of Northeastern Connecticut January 2013 About The Wyndham Land Trust The Wyndham Land Trust, Inc. is engaged in the preservation of natural resources in Windham County, Connecticut. Its emphasis is on wild- life habitat, especially where unique or particularly fragile assemblages of animals and plants exist or may be expected to exist. Its properties are open to the public for the quiet enjoy- A view across the Robbins Preserve. ment of nature. Land may be acquired by donation or purchase. Since WLT THE ROBBINS PRESERVE enjoys 501 (c) 3 status donations to it are deductible under IRS rules, The 124-acre Robbins Preserve sits in the northeast corner of Thompson and was purchased in a feature which sometimes proves June 2012 through a partnership between the land trust, the Nature Conservancy, and an Open attractive! Our work is supported by Space matching grant from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental dues, donations, grants and a very Protection. The land was purchased from Malcolm (Mac) Robbins and was once working farmland modest endowment income. owned by Mr. Robbins’s father. Members enjoy an annual potluck supper, generally in the fall. In more recent years, the property was worked for sand and gravel, and the sandy Inquiries may be directed to the soil supports plant species such as pitch THE WYNDHAM LAND TRUST, INC. Wyndham Land Trust, Inc., pine, alder, and sweet fern. It also supports THANK YOU PO Box 302 one of the best populations of variable Individual annual membership $20 Pomfret Center, CT, 06259 sedge, an endangered species in Family annual membership $30 or to [email protected] Connecticut. The land also provides Individual life membership $300 Please see our web site suitable habitat and a host plant—wild Family life membership $500 www.wyndhamlandtrust.org indigo—for the frosted elfin butterfly, a Phone (860) 963-2090. state-listed threatened species. Forested Donation to Land Aquisition Fund $______ Your comments, questions and wetlands and vernal pools on the property suggestions are most welcome. support a variety of amphibian species, including blue-spotted salamander, a Name: ____________ We Seek To Increase Our state-listed species of special concern. Andy Rzeznikiewicz reports that Whip-poor-wills, an un- Address: Membership Base common nesting bird in Connecticut, have been heard in the area and may be nesting. The land trust is working with a local scout troop to Presently annual dues are: Phone: _________________________ manage the early successional growth and • INDIVIDUAL $20 to encourage some of the more uncommon • FAMILY $30 E-mail: __________________ species, such as pitch pine. LIFE MEMBERSHIP Checks payable to: The Five Mile River cuts through the • $300 INDIVIDUAL center of the property, and it is bounded to WYNDHAM LAND TRUST, INC. • $500 FAMILY the east by Quaddick Town Farm Road. You P. O. Box 302 We now accept can park at the gate at the northern end Pomfret Center, CT 06259 of the property. A variety of gravel roads DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE provides walking trails, although none of (Gift Memberships Available by Calling: 860-963-2090) UNDER IRS RULES them are currently marked. WYNDHAM LAND TRUST / 1 Conserving the Natural Resources of Northeastern Connecticut Conserving the Natural Resources of Northeastern Connecticut END OF YEAR DONATIONS The land trust has been very successful in preserving land in recent years, and we continue to acquire property at an accelerating pace. The Seasons Greetings from the Wyndham Land Trust plot below show our accumulated acreage since the land trust acquired its first property in 1977. It took us 28 years (1977 to 2005) to acquire Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost our first 1000 acres, and we have acquired almost 800 acres in the intervening seven years (2006 to 2012). With help from the membership we can soon surpass the 2000-acre mark. Whose woods these are I think I know. He gives his harness bells a shake If you’re one of those people who wait until the His house is in the village though; To ask if there is some mistake. end of the year to make your tax-deductible chari- He will not see me stopping here The only other sound’s the sweep table donations, consider a gift to the Wyndham To watch his woods fill up with snow. Of easy wind and downy flake. Land Trust. The land trust is a registered 501(c)3 charity, and your donation is fully deductible. My little horse must think it queer The woods are lovely, dark, and deep. To stop without a farmhouse near But I have promises to keep, Send a check to Wyndham Land Trust, Between the woods and frozen lake And miles to go before I sleep, PO Box 302, Pomfret Center, CT 06259. The darkest evening of the year. And miles to go before I sleep. To make things easier you can now donate on our web site using our secure Paypal account at: THE ROBBINS PRESERVE EXPANDS www.wyndhamlandtrust.org/give_money.html In November Norma O’Leary donated a five-acre tract of land that abuts our newly acquired Robbins Preserve. The tract is located to the We need your support to south of the Robbins Preserve along the west side of the Five Mile River. The property is mainly a wetland thicket and provides excellent continue on our nesting cover for many bird species. Mrs. O’Leary wanted to see her property conserved and was pleased to increase the acreage protected in this area. She is a local advocate for land conservation, especially in Thompson. The Wyndham Land Trust would like to thank her for mission. generous donation. The Yosemite Valley Preserve In August, 2012 Josephine Stenback donated 36 acres of forested Mission Statement land in Killingly to the Wyndham Land Trust. The property includes The mission of the Wyndham Land Trust is to conserve the natural resources of 2600’ of road frontage along the NW edge of Yosemite Valley Road Northeast Connecticut - the water courses, swamps, woodlands, and open spaces, and 360’ of frontage on the Five Mile River and will be known as the the plant and animal life therein, and the scenic natural and historic sites - all of which Yosemite Valley Preserve. The Wyndham Land Trust is grateful for are very much a part of of the unique character and beauty of all communities her generous donation. in Northeast Connecticut. “Josie” moved to Yosemite Valley Road in 1958 with her late husband Reino, who’s family purchased the property in 1944. “I wanted to see the property protected,” said Mrs. Stenback. “I’d rather see animals using it than people.” Andy Rzeznikiewicz introduces the Walktober participants to the Linda J. Rapoport Memorial Preserve. Walktober Andy Rzeznikiewicz led a walk on the Linda J. Rapoport Memorial Preserve and the Paul and Avis Spalding Preserve in Woodstock as part of the Last Green Valley’s month-long Walktober event. About 20 walkers spent a beautiful fall day exploring the two preserves while Andy explained the goals of the land trust and the work we were doing to maintain the property. Steep ledge abounds in the Yosemite Mrs. Stenback reviews a map of the Valley Preserve and is home to new preserve with board member Jeff Like us on Facebook! Wyndham Land Trust interesting plant life such as Stefanik, who surveyed the property. Design of the WLT Newsletter is donated by Jim Tourtellotte - www.gdpublishing.com Common Polypody fern. 2 / WYNDHAM LAND TRUST WYNDHAM LAND TRUST / 5 Conserving the Natural Resources of Northeastern Connecticut QUIET CORNER LOSES HOLLY DRINKUTH Holly Drinkuth is a familiar name to the conservation community in the Quiet Corner. Holly has worked on environmental issues in Northeast Connecticut in a variety of roles and has been a strong supporter of the Wyndham Land Trust. Holly grew up in Hebron, CT Holly worked on a variety of and started her working life as a conservation projects, but her pastry chef after graduating from crowning achievement was The the prestigious Johnson and Wales Nature Conservancy’s Quine- culinary institute in Providence. baug Highlands Natchaug River In 2000 Holly was living in Brook- Watershed Project which was lyn and raising a family and found awarded a grant of $1 million from herself at a Last Green Valley the North American Wetlands course run by UConn’s Steve Conservation Act (NAWCA) in Broderick called “Understanding 2009. The project permanently the Natural World.” After 17 years protected 11 different tracts total- in the culinary business, Holly’s ing 1,103 acres of wetlands and life was about to change course. forest and included a partnership with the Wyndham Land Trust, Participants were encouraged to three private landowners, the work on conservation issues in Green Valley Institute, Con- their communities, and Holly’s necticut DEEP, and the towns of contribution was to restart the Eastford and Woodstock. Brooklyn Conservation Commis- sion which she chaired for the Holly also coordinated the next 11 years. In addition Broder- Natchaug River Basin Conserva- ick hired Holly to work at the new tion Action Plan adopted in 2011 Green Valley Institute by eight watershed municipalities.More recently she was instrumen- tal in providing The Nature Conservancy’s funding that helped the (GVI), a joint venture between UConn and the Last Green Valley. Wyndham Land Trust purchase the Robbins preserve in June of 2012. Holly’s role was to feed information into the conservation com- missions and to support their missions.