Protected by: Connecticut Farmland Trust, Southbury Land Trust
Year Protected: 2005
Acres: 36
Southbury Land Trust purchased the 50-acre Lovdal Farm in 2004. Because it owns the land, the trust could not hold a conservation easement on the property as required by public funders. The land trust approached CFT about holding an easement on 36 acres of the farm. This was first time that CFT was asked to play this role with another land trust. Since then, CFT has worked with several other land trusts on similarly structured projects.
Lovdal Farm abuts 105 acres protected by Southbury Land Trust, creating a block of 205 acres of protected farmland and woodlands. The farm’s fields are leased to a local farmer and are surrounded by 1,100 acres of active farmland within two miles of the farm. Lovdal Farm, which is managed by Southbury Land Trust, includes extensive trails that are open to the public. www.SouthburyLandTrust.org/maps.html
The purchase of an easement on the farm was funded by the USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Town of Southbury, and Southbury Land Trust.