October 31st, 2006 - Bridge Dedication in Memory of Richard Noyes
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Center: Harriet Noyes, widow of Richard Noyes
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On Tuesday, October 31, 2006, the Rotary Club of Farmington dedicated a footbridge in memory of
Richard Noyes, the first Executive Director of the Farmington Land Trust. The 35 foot long bridge will
complete a hiking trail first envisioned by Mr. Noyes. It will allow for a walking trail from the Aqueduct
Canal site, across town-owned property, eventually connecting with the Land Trust’s Walker Parcel. The
bridge traverses the Canal Stream and will eliminate the natural obstacle the stream caused walkers in
the past.
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October 25th, 2006 - Handicapped Accessible Trail Dedication
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The Farmington Land Trust dedicated the new
Handicapped Accessible Trail on its Douglass
Mount/Zipp Parcel, off Railroad Avenue in
Unionville, on October 25th at 10:00 a.m. Located
on the picturesque Farmington River (see photo),
this unique trail and fishing pier was developed
specifically for the handicapped with the help of
local businessmen Tom Zipp, Jake Carrier, Jeff
Sager, Peter Dunn and Architect David Eveleth.
At right, New Horizons residents Charles Hutchings
and Adalberto Cuadrodo cut the ribbon symbolizing
the official opening of the trail. Looking on from left
to right are: Mike Shaw, Director of New Horizons,
Peter VanBeckum, past Farmington Land Trust
President, Jan Kozlowski, Admissions Director of
New Horizons, Mike Clark, Chairman of the
Farmington Town Council, David Eveleth, Project
Architect, John Vibert, President of the Farmington
Land Trust and Tom Zipp.
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The Farmington Land Trust is immensely proud of this accomplishment. We feel that it is an excellent
example of intergroup collaboration and awareness of the wide range of community needs which we
meet through our stewardship and programming. This spring the bike path and link to the fishing spot
will be paved and safely wheelchair-accessible. Come fishing season, we expect our fisherpeople from
New Horizons to be there catching those big ones from the spring Farmington River trout release.
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October 21st, 2006 - Harvest Celebration
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On Saturday, October 21, 2006 the Land Trust held
a Harvest Celebration dinner-dance at the Pond
House Café in West Hartford, Connecticut. The
event was successfully planned and orchestrated
by Carol Presutti and Maria Glickman. In addition to
dinner and dancing, an auction of items donated by
local merchants was most beneficial to the Land
Trust. Congratulations to Jim Gould for his
outstanding job as auctioneer.
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Special thanks to the Farmington Savings Bank, Inc., the Farmington Chamber of Commerce and Wine
Cellars 4 for their generous financial support.
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April 2006 - Cowles Property Work Party Report
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On Saturday, April 8, 2006, six volunteers ignored the cold, rainy weather and generously donated their
time and energy to help clean up the garbage on the shores of the Cowles property, one of the most
heavily used parcels. A downed willow tree on the Pequabuck River had been acting as a filter for every
bottle, tire and piece of miscellaneous trash that anyone had ever thrown in. Evan Cowles and Brie
Quinby, the Cowles Parcel stewards, worked alongside the other volunteers, Kimberly Henry, Michael
and Tina Delaney, and Elin Centerwall collecting well over 400 pounds of garbage, including 10 tires
with rims, two bowling balls, a propane tank, multiple plastic containers and many other questionable
items. Thanks to all the hard work, the natural beauty of the Cowles Parcel has been restored.
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October 2005 - Green Team Work Party Report
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On a beautiful Saturday morning in October 2005, 91 IAR students -- members of IAR’s “Green Team” --
reported to the riverbanks of the Farmington River to remove a year’s worth of debris from the riverbank
and shallows in three heavily used sites within town borders. Over a half-ton of debris was removed by
the work crew, including several buckets worth of broken glass. (Not to worry, moms: students were
provided gloves). The work party was especially pleased to remove an abandoned gas tank and a
twisted “bicycle carcass” from the riverbed. Nine parent volunteers, three IAR faculty members, and
eight high school students who are starting up a student-run Green Team at Farmington High School
also joined ranks for the Cleanup. Read more about this energetic group here.
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October 2, 2005 - West District Preserve Work Party Report
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On Sunday, October 2, seven volunteers made up the "FLT working crew" removing invasive non-native
plants on our West District Preserve. We appreciate all the efforts of the volunteers to help manage
these invasives, which, if left untreated, would overtake the native plants and trees at this parcel and ruin
its habitat value. This group contributed 14 hours to this effort and made a huge impact.
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2005 News
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The Farmington Land Trust, Inc. has one mission: to protect open space in perpetuity through
acquisition, stewardship, education and advocacy. Since our founding in 1971 as a private, non-profit
organization, tax-exempt under section 501(c)3 of federal law, we have pursued this single goal. Our
support comes from those concerned about the danger of over development, which has blighted so
many towns. The pressure to develop rural Farmington – its farmland, ridgeline and riverbank – is
immense and increasing.
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Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the Land Trust now shields 267 acres of fields, forests, scenic
vistas, historic sites and wildlife habitat from development. These 53 parcels will remain as open space
forever, enriching the quality of life for Farmington residents for generations to come. This acreage
includes a new parcel: an outright gift of 0.75 acres donated by the Wadsworth Family. We appreciate
the commitment this gift represents for the future of Farmington.
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The Land Trust is governed by a 18-member Board of Directors elected by the membership at our
annual meeting in May. Our current membership (620 households) offers invaluable financial and
volunteer support to the directors, who are responsible for maintaining and preserving the property
under our protection and for acquiring additional open space. We are encouraged by the 100 new
households that joined this year.
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Officers for 2005-2006 are: President, John Vibert; Vice-President, Martina Delaney; Secretary, Beatrice
Stockwell; and Treasurer, Forrest Wright. Directors are Tom Brown, Kimberly Henry, Jeffrey Hogan,
Deborah Klene, Charles Leach, Henry Mason Sr., Lucy Michaud, J. David Morrissey, Carol Presutti, Brie
Quinby, Lisa Solari, Joe Treggor, Katherine Wadsworth and Angham Zakko. The Land Trust office is
located in the Canal House at 128 Garden Street; it is staffed part-time by our Information Manager
Margit Bobman.
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John Vibert serves as the Land Trust representative to the Town Land Acquisition Committee. This
committee recommends the purchase of properties by the town for open space preservation, municipal
purposes and active recreational use.
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We salute the Town Council for its commitment to open space acquisition, and we worked for a positive
vote in the May referendum to authorize $1.5 million for that purpose. We are pleased by the 61% vote in
favor. We believe this vote was crucial to the town’s future well-being.
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Please contact the Farmington Land Trust at 860-674-8545, or any director by email to FarmingtonLand.
Trust@snet.net with questions, suggestions or information.
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2002 News
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Acquired a property on Red Oak Hill, bringing the total Farmington Land Trust, Inc. acreage to 258 in 47
separate parcels town-wide. These properties, all given by generous Farmington residents and
businesses, vary in size, recreational use, natural resources, wildlife habitat and historical interest.
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Announced completion of our first major capital campaign - The Farmington Landmark Fund - at the May
Annual Meeting. The goal was $500,000 for capital projects and to increase our endowment. The
Hartford Foundation for Public Giving committed $140,000 for capital projects, the Farmington Savings
Bank came forward with a leadership gift of $15,000 and businesses and individuals added $311,000.
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1997 News
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In partnership with the Trust for Public Land (TPL), the Farmington Land Trust, Inc. helped the town of
Farmington acquire 53 wooded acres, including a 15-acre spring-fed reservoir that had once supplied
drinking water to town residents. This project is part of TPL's Connecticut Watershed Initiative, a
statewide effort to protect land surrounding active drinking water supplies as well as former and
potential sources of clean drinking water.
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