KENT, Conn.—A 245-acre riverfront property in Canaan has moved closer to permanent protection after the Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy (NCLC), based in Kent, secured a $1.5 million state grant to help acquire it.Â
The grant, awarded through the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition (OSWA) Grant Program, will support preservation of more than a mile of Housatonic River frontage and more than a half-mile along the Blackberry River where it joins the Housatonic in the Weatogue Valley.
The purchase price is $2.25 million, with the state grant covering about two-thirds of the cost. NCLC is seeking to raise a total of about $2.6 million to cover the purchase, environmental due diligence, legal and transaction expenses, and the infrastructure and long-term stewardship needed to prepare the preserve for public access.
The tract, one of the largest remaining undeveloped stretches along the Housatonic River in Northwest Connecticut, had previously been approved for a 20-unit residential subdivision. Developer H. Bruce McEver later abandoned the project.
The property provides habitat for 10 state-listed species, including the northern long-eared bat, mudpuppy, wood turtle and skillet clubtail dragonfly. The property also supports several rare plant species and contains prime farmland soils considered important statewide.
 The NCLC describes as the parcel as largest contiguous tract of unfragmented riverine and interior forest habitat remaining on the east side of the Housatonic River between the Massachusetts border and the Great Falls in Falls Village. It will augment thousands of acres already protected across the river in Salisbury.
Once completed, the preserve will offer hiking, wildlife observation, fishing and other low-impact recreation using existing woods roads and gentle terrain. NCLC hopes to begin opening the preserve to the public by the summer of 2028.
Founded in 1965, NCLC protects more than 14,400 acres across Litchfield and northern Fairfield counties.
