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Donation

Joe Campert donated almost 70 acres around Lake Bungee to the Wyndham Land Trust. Photos courtesy of the Wyndham Land Trust Inc.

 

 

Lake 

Bungee 

founder 

donates

land

WOODSTOCK — Joe Campert, the founder of Bungee Lake, in Woodstock, recently donated property around the lake to the Wyndham Land Trust Inc., which will protect it from development. Campert donated a 37-acre property and a 31-acre property to the land trust, with frontage on Rt. 171, Pine Grove Road, Bungee Hill Rd, and Crooked Trail Ext.

Both properties are forested and contain a mixture of mature white pine, hemlock, and red oak.  A healthy mountain laurel thicket is in one section of the land, and a couple of small streams traverse the properties. Currently, there are no trails for the public to access the properties, although the land trust may create trails in the future.

Andy Rzeznikiewicz, the land trust’s land manager, is said, “It’s good habitat for birds. We expect to find nesting Black-throated Green Warblers, Blackburnian Warblers, Pine Warblers, and Northern and Louisiana Waterthrushes, to name of few of the noteworthy bird species around the lake. Joe Campert wanted to see these lands protected forever.  We are happy he has trusted the Wyndham Land Trust to take on that duty.”

Campert created Lake Bungee in the early 1950s, although the dam he built was almost swept away after back-to-back hurricanes dumped more than 2 feet of rain on Connecticut in August of 1955 (the same rainfall that destroyed much of Putnam). Today, there are more than 400 homes in the Lake Bungee Tax District. 

Campert, now 94-years old, is a well-known figure in Woodstock. He developed Witches Wood Lake in the 1960s and operated the O-Ho-Ho Ski Area and Christmas Tree Lodge until it closed in 1987. He piloted a Piper single-engine four-seat airplane and took off from a runway he constructed behind his house on Lake Bungee.

The Wyndham Land Trust Inc. now protects more than 50 parcels in 10 towns in northeastern Connecticut totaling 2,600 acres. 

The land trust can be reached by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by calling (860) 963 2090. More information can be found at www.wyndhamlandtrust.org.