The Connecticut Forest Legacy Program
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection partners with the US Forest Service to implement the Connecticut Forest Legacy Program (FLP). The FLP helps to identify and conserve environmentally important forests. The program protects working forests, those forests that protect water quality and provide habitat, forest products, opportunities for recreation and other public benefits.
The program encourages and supports acquisition of conservation easements. Conservation easements are legally binding agreements transferring a negotiated set of property rights from one party to another, without transferring property ownership. Most FLP conservation easements restrict development, require sustainable forestry practices, and protect various environmental values. There are also limited instances under the program where properties are purchased outright for their conservation values. In both instances, the federal government may fund up to 75% of program costs, with at least 25% coming from private, state or local sources.
In Connecticut, the Forest Legacy Program is jointly run by the Division of Forestry and the Land Acquisition and Management Division within the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The Forest Legacy Program Coordinator's position resides in the Division of Forestry.
Eligibility
To be considered for the FLP, a property must:
- Be within the designated Forest Legacy Area;
- Be threatened by development or conversion to non-forest;
- Be a working forest, in that it protects water quality, provides habitat, forest products, opportunities for recreation, and/or other public benefits;
- Abut or be in close proximity to already existing protected land; and,
- Have some unique quality, such as a viewshed or a known population of rare, threatened or endangered species.
Public access is not mandatory. However, the US Forest Service is more apt to fund a project that allows some public access. If State Funds are used as the cost-share, then public access is required. If no public access is allowed, a justification has to be made in the application.
A Forest Stewardship Plan is required. Please contact the appropriate Service Forester for more information about the Forest Stewardship program.
For more information on the Forest Legacy Program or an application packet, please contact:
Dan Peracchio, Forest Legacy Coordinator
CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Division of Forestry
79 Elm Street
Hartford, CT 06106
Tel: 860-424-3634
Fax: 860-424-4070
Email: daniel.peracchio@ct.gov
Additional resources:
- US Forest Service Legacy Program - Northeastern Area
Content last updated October 2019