caption page 1: Robbins Preserve
captions, page 7: Lower Pond Preserve and Long Pond


The Wyndham Land Trust expanded four properties in the Quiet Corner at the end of 2018, closing out one of the most productive years in its 43-year history.
The Long Pond Preserve in Thompson increased to 100 acres thanks to the acquisition of 24 acres formerly owned by Scott McWilliam. The property is mostly dry ground with many very large white pine trees, and the land trust hopes the site will become a nesting site for the Bald Eagles that frequent Webster Lake.  A hiking trail forms a nice loop around the northern edge of the pond.
A 27 acre-parcel, formerly owned by the late Ron Blain, expands the Robbins Preserve in Thompson along its southern boundary to 155 acres.  Whip-poor wills, an uncommon nesting bird in the state, rely on the forest in this parcel to breed each year.  The property also includes undisturbed frontage on the Five Mile River.  
The addition of 152 acres, situated in both Thompson and Putnam, expands the Lower Pond Preserve to 280 acres. The property was formerly owned by the Orr family. The land trust now protects the entire shoreline of Lower Pond.  The new parcel contains an Atlantic white cedar swamp, white pine/oak upland forest, a grassy marshland, and a small stream.  The property holds a high concentration of endangered plants and insects associated with Atlantic white cedar swamps. Ospreys nest in the dead trees that line the swamp.  
“The late Dick Booth, president of the land trust for many years, was very aware of the ecological significance of Lower Pond,” said Andy Rzeznikiewicz, who spearheaded the recent acquisition of the property. “Dick focused much of his energy on protecting the entire pond.  He would be so happy to know that we have finally accomplished that goal.”
Finally, the land trust acquired an additional 18 acres from the Orr family, which expands the Chafee Preserve in Putnam to 47 acres. The Chafee Preserve was donated to the land trust in 1977 by Joseph Chafee and was the first property protected by the land trust.
The Wyndham Land Trust now protects more than 100 parcels in 10 towns in northeastern Connecticut totaling more than 4,000 acres.

All photos courtesy of the Wyndham Land Trust.

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