1 YEAR,
3 TOWNS,
5 PROPERTIES,
232 ACRES, & $0.00
At any given time, the Joshua’s Trust Land Protection team is typically tracking between 10 and 20 properties that could result in either owning land outright or holding conservation easements that protect the land from development or abuse. After 60 years of doing this important work, we’re accustomed to both disappointments and successes, but by any measure, the end of 2025 was in the latter column. Through a combination of donor generosity, the hard work of our team, and lucky circumstances, we closed on 232 acres of conservation land spread across five properties in three towns in 2025–nearly 227 acres of that in December alone. Total purchase price for these five properties: ZERO, a clear indication that generosity and a commitment to land conservation remain alive and well in northeast Connecticut. We’ll be providing more information about these new parcels over the coming months, but here’s what came our way during a few short weeks at the end of the year:
Note: Included in the numbers above but not pictured in this article is the acquisition of Fish’s Woods Preserve in October of 2025. This beautiful, 5.3 acre property is located in Mansfield directly across the road from Joshua’s Trust Gurley-Mason Mill Site and was gifted in fee by Art and JoAnn Freeman, whose generosity ensures its protection for generations to come.
Andrews Parcel | 138 acres | Hampton
Gift of Elisabeth (Betsy) Andrews of Columbia
Elisabeth’s family purchased this property on Pudding Hill Road in 1975 and used it for several decades as a summer retreat. The plot is rectangular with about 1000 feet of frontage on Route 97 and extending 6000 feet westward. A highlight of the parcel is a large hayfield at the apex of a topographic feature known as Shaw Hill, which affords great views to the east. With the donor’s blessing, we will refer to this parcel as the “Shaw Hill Preserve” and we look forward to establishing access for the public.
Scarpino Parcel | 6 acres | Hampton
Gift of Brothers Ralph and Paul Scarpino
This property has been in the Scarpino family since 1959. Although relatively small, the parcel provides an important access to Hampton’s 160 acres of forested open space to the south, which in turn abuts the aforementioned Andrews parcel further to the south. The Andrews and Scarpino properties, together with another nearby 47 acres donated to us by Robert Inman in 2024, have significantly increased our conservation impact in Hampton.
Forest Road Parcel | 15 acres | Mansfield
Gift of Chris Kueffner, Joshua’s Trust Board Member
Prior to the donation of this property on Forest Road, Chris successfully removed invasive barberry and implemented a site-wide patch cut, both efforts assisted by a grant provided by the National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). Going forward Joshua’s Trust will manage the property as early successional habitat. We are hoping by this time next year to be able to report on the acquisition of additional forested land in the area.
White Parcel | 68 acres | Coventry
Gift of the Frederick S. White Trust
This property on Cooper Lane is the final block of land connecting open space owned by the Town of Coventry and Joshua’s Trust’s existing Couch Preserve. The parcel contains valuable habitat on the shore of Eagleville Lake, an impoundment of the Willimantic River. Existing forest roads that criss-cross the property will be the backbone of future hiking trails that will connect to existing trails on Joshua’s Trust and town-owned land to the north.
The future of your family’s land could be preserved forever, too. Joshua’s Trust has protected over 5,500 acres of land in the past sixty years. Want to learn more about donating land? Reach out to us to start a conversation today.
