Natural Resource Inventory and Assessment - Town of Guilford

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Open Space H4 • Town-owned Open Space – 1,626 acres Among the Town-owned open space properties, the largest are: *Timberlands: 588 acres A forest preserve with trails Bittner Park: 115 acres Open land including multiple recreational facilities Public Schools 160 acres Including the 44-acre Baldwin School and adjoining former Cushing and Hull properties Former Menunkatuc Land Corporation property: 141 acres Open field, forest and wetland Lake Quonnipaug: 100+ acres Beach and parking area on west shoreline *Braemore Preserve: 95 acres Meadow east of Route 77 with trails in forest preserve *James Valley: 73 acres New trails connect with Mattabasett Trail Peddler’s Park: 30 acres Provides access to Westwoods Grass Island: 30 acres Accessible across the East River from the Town Marina Jacobs Beach: 25 acres Picnic shelter, playground, beach/bathhouse, boat racks Chaffinch Island Park: 22 acres Picnic facilities and shellfishing *Managed by the Conservation Commission Most of the Town’s committed open space is in North Guilford. The most popular and most-used open space locations in Guilford, according to a 2003 survey of residents 6, include Bluff Head, Bittner Park, Chaffinch Island Park, Westwoods, Timberlands, and the coastal marshes. Much of the Town’s open space is under the purview of the Town Parks and Recreation Department and used for “active recreational use.” (See Appendix I-1.) Many of these areas are host to permanent recreational structures and facilities, athletic fields, and parking, beaches, and playgrounds. A six-acre, Town-owned parcel on County Road houses Guilford’s environmental education center, the non-profit Shoreline Outdoor Education Center, in an old school building. Since 1982 environmental education curricula have been offered at the center for regional school systems, the shoreline communities, and the Guilford school system. • Guilford Land Conservation Trust land (2,246 acres) 7 The Guilford Land Conservation Trust was founded in 1965. It is the largest single-town land trust in Connecticut in terms of membership and land holdings, currently holding 2,245 acres in Guilford. 8 Its largest landholdings are concentrated in the areas of Bluff Head (about 500 acres), Westwoods, and the east central part of Town. In addition to acquiring land, the Trust assists in other land protection negotiations, stewards the land, and fosters environmental education and public recreational events on its land. Natural Resource Inventory and Assessment Town of Guilford, CT
• State of Connecticut’s Guilford Holdings (1,236 acres) Most State-owned land in Guilford is classified as forest land under the Public Act 490 Program. The 749 acres of Cockaponset State Forest land in Guilford is divided among several tracts: 372 acres on the northern border of Route 80, opposite Timberlands and 377 acres in Westwoods. (See Section E.) There are also two DEP Wildlife Management Areas in Guilford on the coast. (See Section B.) • South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority Land (3,228 acres) 9 SCCRWA holdings are further broken down into three classifications of land: Class I (1,244 acres), Class II (1,479 acres), and Class III (505 acres). These classifications are used for water company lands statewide (as defined by the Connecticut General Assembly) and have particular meaning regarding the use and disposition of land in each class. Of the total SCCRWA land holdings in Guilford, 2,316 acres are classified as forestland under the Public Act 490 Program. (See below and Section E.) The vast holdings of the SCCRWA represent significant open space on a regional scale. The only areas open to the public by permit in Guilford for recreational use are the Sugarloaf tract (hiking and cross-country skiing trails), with access on West Street, and the Genesee Tract, with hiking trail access off Lake Drive. A portion of the Mattabesett Trail traverses SCCRWA land near Bluff Head. • Land Classified Under Public Act 490 (10,181 acres) Public Act 490, a preferential tax assessment program passed by the Connecticut General Assembly in 1963, reduces the tax burden of parcels that meet certain criteria, making it less likely such land would be sold for development. Under this program designation ends upon sale of the property or 10 years from the classification date, whichever comes first. A modest fiscal advantage for the Town results from P.A. 490 land because this vacant land requires no Town services and produces no school enrollments. According to the Town Assessor, 10,181 acres 10, about 33 percent of the land in Town, now receive preferential tax relief under the provisions of P.A. 490 as forested land (2,838 acres), farmland (5,677 acres), or “open space 11”(1,665 acres). (See Appendix H-3 for more on P.A. 490.) Conservation Areas Identified in Guilford Documents Three documents identify open space in Guilford: • Master Plan for Preservation and Scenic Conservation: Town of Guilford, Connecticut (GPA 1995) describes favorite scenes, views, areas of conservation interest and resources • Map #3 in the Plan of Conservation and Development (PZC 2002) depicts location and photographs of some of these areas • Plan for Open Space and Municipal Land Needs (LAC 2001) lists 17 locations as “Areas of Conservation Interest” (See Appendix G-1 for lists.) Appendix G-2 compares these lists with the natural scenic resource elements identified in the NRIA, in Section G. Natural Resource Inventory and Assessment Town of Guilford, CT H5 Open Space
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TOWN OF GUILFORD, CONNECTICUT Natur
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TOWN OF GUILFORD Natural Resource I
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Acknowledgments The Conservation Co
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Introduction What are natural resou
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INTRODUCTION 1 Orthophoto 2 Land Us
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ACRONYMS Acronyms used in this docu
Page 13 and 14: Section A. GEOLOGY A.1 Introduction
Page 15 and 16: of us give much thought. The reason
Page 17 and 18: former river delta. This material,
Page 19 and 20: A.9 Summary Guilford’s geological
Page 21 and 22: Section B. COAST B.1 Introduction S
Page 23 and 24: oysters and clams are raised in upw
Page 25 and 26: Mammals: Mink, deer, raccoon, otter
Page 27 and 28: Habitat destruction Before passage
Page 29 and 30: Section C. FRESHWATER C.1 Introduct
Page 31 and 32: Fishes: largemouth bass (non-native
Page 33 and 34: Floodplains are low-lying areas tha
Page 35 and 36: evaluation of current designated ar
Page 37 and 38: Section D. Uplands D.1 Definition a
Page 39 and 40: Black oak, red oak, and white oak d
Page 41 and 42: Traprock Ridges This ecosystem is r
Page 43 and 44: Invasive plants in Guilford’s upl
Page 45 and 46: Section E. AGRICULTURE E.1 Introduc
Page 47 and 48: E.5 Marketable Resources: Products
Page 49 and 50: Timberlands The approximately 600-a
Page 51 and 52: Endnotes 1 For statutory definition
Page 53 and 54: Section F THE DARK NIGHT SKY F.1 In
Page 55 and 56: Section G NATURAL SCENIC RESOURCES
Page 57 and 58: PUBLIC VANTAGE POINT SCENIC VIEW Sc
Page 59 and 60: G.4 Summary Guilford’s scenic res
Page 61 and 62: Section H OPEN SPACE H.1 Introducti
Page 63: the Scenic Roads Advisory Committee
Page 67 and 68: Town of Guilford, Planning and Zoni
Page 69 and 70: Section I NATURAL RESOURCE-BASED RE
Page 71 and 72: particularly in North Guilford, are
Page 73 and 74: I.6 Threats and Concerns: the Futur
Page 75 and 76: References Demrow, C. and D. Salisb
Page 77 and 78: Section J SIGNIFICANT NATURAL RESOU
Page 79 and 80: J.4 Location and Ecological Content
Page 81 and 82: GAPS Areas for Future Study and Con
Page 83 and 84: Afterword Future Considerations As
Page 85 and 86: TOWN OF GUILFORD Natural Resource I
Page 87 and 88: APPENDIX B-1 Guilford Coastal Data
Page 89 and 90: APPENDIX B-2 Natural Resource Inven
Page 91 and 92: Natural Resource Inventory and Asse
Page 93 and 94: APPENDIX B-4 Quick Facts About Long
Page 95 and 96: APPENDIX C-1 Listing of Guilford’
Page 97 and 98: • Unnamed stream - flows under Ro
Page 99 and 100: APPENDIX C-2 Wetland Soil Categorie
Page 101 and 102: APPENDIX C-3 Water Protection Agenc
Page 103 and 104: APPENDIX D-1 Birds of Guilford, Con
Page 105 and 106: Page 3 - Birds of Guilford, Connect
Page 111 and 112: Appendix D-2 Natural Resource Inven
Page 113 and 114: APPENDIX E-1 Agricultural Products
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Dairy There are no longer any opera
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F-1 NEW YORK METROPOLITAN AREA AT N
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APPENDIX G-1 Natural Scenic Resourc
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NRIA’s Listing of Scenic Views Fr
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GPA’s Favorite Scenes and Places
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APPENDIX G-2 a Natural Resource Inv
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APPENDIX G-2b Natural Resource Inve
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APPENDIX G-3 Guilford’s Town Owne
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APPENDIX G-4 Guilford’s Notable T
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APPENDIX H-1 A Compilation of Guilf
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APPENDIX H-2a Metacomet Ridge Conse
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APPENDIX H-3 Public Act 490 Prefere
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APPENDIX I-1 Recreational Facilitie
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APPENDIX J-1 Benefits of Buffer by
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Natural Resource Inventory and Assessment - Town of Guilford

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