The Last Green Valley, Inc. recently awarded a $2,500 Heritage Transaction Grant to the Wyndham Land Trust to help in its ongoing effort to protect Bull Hill, a more than 3,000-acre undisturbed forest straddling Thompson and Woodstock.
“Bull Hill is an exciting place for those concerned with preserving the forests of The Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor,” said Lois Bruinooge, executive director of TLGV. “Wyndham Land Trust has done tremendous work in a short time to ensure this largely unfragmented forest stays that way.”
The $2,500 grant will be matched 1:1 and is needed for legal fees to finalize the donation of two parcels of landlocked forest on Bull Hill totaling 19 acres. The parcels abut land owned by the Town of Thompson and Wyndham Land Trust. The parcels contain a segment of north-south trail that connects the entire Bull Hill Forest.
Andy Rzeznikiewicz, a board member for Wyndham Land Trust and the project director for the grant, said these parcels posed a challenge for the land trust.
“These two particular parcels require more legal work than usual land transactions,” Rzeznikiewicz said. “Before the transaction can be completed, three previous owners who all died must have their estates go through probate. The probate process was never done in the past.  In order for the land trust to take ownership the land titles must be clear. This is a lengthy process, which our attorney will work through.”
The Heritage Transaction Fund was conceived as a program to help organizations such as Wyndham Land Trust close the gaps in funding for projects. Another round of the grant program will be opening soon.

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