Niantic River Headwaters Community Forest conservation complete

By Staff reportsPosted Dec 5, 2019 at 5:00 PM   

The New England Forestry Foundation recently completed conservation of 200 acres of critical habitat at its Niantic River Headwaters Community Forest in East Lyme.

This project was undertaken in two phases: NEFF first conserved 166 acres of the forest in 2017, and then protected an adjacent 34-acre parcel in 2019. Final negotiations and fundraising efforts for this second and final phase wrapped up this fall.

The Niantic River Headwaters Community Forest is part of a larger 2,200-acre forest block in East Lyme and Waterford. This area of forested corridor is comprised of about 20 parcels, mostly privately owned. The conservation of Niantic River Headwaters Community Forest ensures that water flowing from a portion of the headwaters will continue to be filtered by the forest and natural wetland habitat, thereby helping to maintain water quality in the river’s estuary.

Read the article at The Bulletin here.