News Release

November 2, 2006

Contact: Tim Northrop, State Director, 203-777-7367 ext. 3

Kim Gilman, Public Affairs Manager, 617-367-6200 ext. 326

Governor Rell Announces Open Space Grant Award for

Shepherd Farm Ridge Project

Woodbridge, CT – The Trust for Public Land, in partnership with the Town of Woodbridge, has received a $225,675 grant towards the conservation of the Shepherd Farm Ridge. Governor Jodi Rell and Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Gina McCarthy announced the grant today, as part of the 2006 Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Grant awards ceremony in Middletown.

Woodbridge First Selectman Edward Maum Sheehy, said, “The Town wishes to thank the State of Connecticut and the private donors for their aid in helping the Town of Woodbridge preserve the 35.8 acre Shepherd Farm Ridge for future generations to enjoy.”

Tim Northrop, Connecticut Director for the Trust for Public Land (TPL), said, “We’re really pleased with the award for the Shepherd Farm Park project. Together with the Town of Woodbridge, Woodbridge Park Association and Woodbridge Land Trust, we want to thank the Governor, Commissioner and the General Assembly for continuing to fund this important matching grant program. Without state funds, this project could never happen. Local government and land trusts critically need the state’s partnership to save our diminishing open space.”

TPL has an agreement to purchase 35.8 acres of the Shepherd Farm property through the end of this year. At that time, TPL plans to convey the property to the town for permanent protection as conservation land. The property’s purchase price is $546,000. The Woodbridge Park Association and the Woodbridge Land Trust are working to raise $120,000 in private donations and will be accepting donations through the end of the calendar year. The balance of the purchase price is expected to come from the Town of Woodbridge and will be voted on at a Special Town Meeting on November 15.

Dr. Richard J. Forselius, past President of the Woodbridge Park Association, said, “Our award for the permanent protection of the 35.8 acre Shepherd Farm Ridge parcel is terrific news, and we thank the State of Connecticut for the grant. I would like to express sincere appreciation to Governor M. Jody Rell, Senator Joe Crisco, Representative Themis Klarides, the Woodbridge Selectmen, the town Finance Committee and the town Conservation Commission for their leadership, and the essential, numerous private donors for their generosity in making this project possible."

Shepherd Farm has been a longstanding open space priority for the town, which began working with TPL in 2000 to acquire the property. The Town of Woodbridge Open Space Plan and the Town Plan of Conservation and Development rate the Shepherd Farm land “as one of the top three most important open space parcels that currently are most threatened by developmental forces.”

The ridge parcel borders the separate 20-acre Shepherd family dairy farm which continues to be owned and operated by Sara Shepherd and has been in continuous farming for over 100 years. Preservation of the ridge will allow continued use of the historic trail to the north of Camp Whiting all the way to Dillon Road. 

Preservation of the 38.5-acre parcel will provide a buffer between the dairy farm and nearby residential properties, helping to assure continuation of the working farm. In addition, the new Shepherd Farm Ridge would continue to provide an important habitat for wildlife, including a large number of bird species, deer, fox, coyote, wild turkey, and turtles.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national nonprofit organization, specializes in conservation real estate, applying its expertise in negotiations, public finance, and law to protect land for people to enjoy as natural areas, ensuring livable communities for generations to come. TPL has protected more than 4,000 acres of open space, watershed land, working farms and forestland, and historic resources in 32 communities across the state. For more information, please visit www.tpl.org/connecticut.