News and Events

 Dear Members and Friends of the Oxford Land Trust:  

Founded in 1988,The Land Trust is a non-profit, apolitical, all volunteer organization dedicated to preserving Open Space in Oxford and to educating our community about the value of Open Space as a natural resource.  

As the Land Trust begins its 39th year, developmental pressures both internal and external continue to challenge out Town; the Town consistently described as the fastest growing in Connecticut. As Directors of the Land Trust we continue to seek solutions which will balance and preserve our historically rural environment. The Land Trust will continue to strongly advocate for Town purchases of environmentally strategic parcels of land, purchases of which Oxford citizens have overwhelmingly supported in the past. 

Last year, the Board of Directors wrote a letter of support, along with CT Forest & Parks Association, for the Town’s ultimately successful DEEP grant for the purchase of the Vaill Farm on Old Good Hill Road. Acquisition of this parcel will now add to the Oxford Loop Trail at Jackson’s Cove, which is historically  the first CT Greenway Trail link along the Housatonic;  adding to the Land Trust’s Fiddlehead parcel, and the CT Forest & Parks’ Blue-blazed Pomperaug Trail in Kettletown State Park. 

First Selectman, George Temple, has authorized the Open Space / Trails Management Commission, with two Land Trust representatives, two Conservation Commission members, and one member at large in order to specify land management responsibilities.  

Complimentary to the large-tract purchase by the Town, the Land Trust, over its 39 years, has been the recipient of individual, smaller parcels of land located  throughout the Town which are set aside in perpetuity, preserving the rural character of their respective neighborhoods. (Please see the Properties area for more details). 

The Land Trust will continue to maintain its integrity by participating, with your help; in Ion Bank’s Community Challenge, the Valley Community Foundation’s Great Give, and by striving to obtain funds from other land preservation sources.  Funding supplied by the Katherine Matthews and work by the OLT Directors, along with the donations of materials and services from the community has resulted in a completed boardwalk and parking addition to the Katherine Matthews Woodland Preserve on Good Hill Road and enhanced parking at the Walter and  Katherine Dann Woodland Preserve on O’Neil Road, along with continued maintenance and signage on all properties.  

The Directors are placing the history of how each property was acquired over the last 39 years on the website; the first description being the most important acquisition for the citizens of Oxford: the Town’s acquisition of the Rockhouse Hill Sanctuary in southeastern Oxford. The Sanctuary is, and has always been the property of the citizens of Oxford. The Town would not have this property today if it had not been for the concerted effort of the OLT Directors at the time. When information came forward in the mid 1990’s that Birmingham Utilities wanted to sell this property, the Land Trust rallied with Town organizations and The Trust for Public Land In an effort to preserve this large, diverse and important natural resource. The Trust for Public Land was the key organization in coordinating a three-year campaign from 1995 to 1998, educating Oxford residents of the importance in saving this land as Open Space for current and future generations. Further education of Oxford’s youth has been continued with an annual hike for Second-Grade students since 2000. The Land Trust assumed responsible co-management, with the Town. Continuing with OLT’s land maintenance and education missions, along with the help of its Directors, members, volunteers, Eagle Scout projects, in 2008, a Land Trust/Town initiative started a Youth Conservation Corps to assist the Trust-directed Eagle Scout candidates in building trails for passive recreation enjoyment and for formal study of biology, botany, and forestry. A formal Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Town Board of Selectmen and the Land Trust for the stewardship of this Sanctuary in 2009. 

The Land Trust’s continued success is directly attributable to its founder vision, to the hard work and dedication of volunteers, and to the essential financial support of the many individuals in our community who believe in the Land Trust’s mission: the preservation, in perpetuity, of Open Space in Oxford. While we vigorously pursue land donations and grants, your matching gifts and donations support this mission, allowing  land acquisition, land management, 2ndGrade hikes, educational speaker programs, maintenance costs, and the preservation of our natural resources. Your financial support allows our mission to continue. Please know that we greatly appreciate and thank you for your support. 

ALL proceeds go towards protecting our historical rural environment, an environment which our community has consistently supported for this and future generations.  

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT! 

Please return the Membership Form and send it with your check payable to The Oxford Land Trust, Inc.  PO Box 616, Oxford, CT 06478    

 Margaret Elliott