Conservationists and housing advocates collaborate in new report

The Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunity has published its Northwest Connecticut Affordable Housing and Conservation Strategy, an initiative meant to organize affordable housing development and critical conservation practices as joint objectives in the Northwest Corner.

Partnering with Litchfield Hills Greenprint Collaborative, a local land protection coalition comprised of land trusts and community leaders, LCCHO invited representatives from the towns of Salisbury, Canaan, Norfolk, Sharon, Cornwall, Goshen, Kent and Warren to discuss actions and strategies within their towns to support conservation and affordable housing efforts in tandem. The group of over 60 participants representing over 40 towns and organizations met six times between February and September of 2024 before releasing the Strategy, according to the recently released document.

The purpose statement of the project argues that “cross sector and regional collaboration among town governments, housing organizations and conservation organizations is vital to achieving our affordable housing and conservation goals.”

The strategy joins adjacent regional efforts to prioritize conservation and affordable housing as conjunctive goals, such as the Hudson Valley Alliance for Housing and Conservation. Smaller efforts abound as well, as in a recent collaboration between the Pioneer Valley nonprofit Kestrel Land Trust and national NGO The Community Builders to develop affordable units among a small portion of a large, ecologically-rich parcel in Easthampton, Massachusetts, as reported by Audubon Magazine.

The guidelines for housing outlined in the report are informed by each town’s Affordable Housing Plan, meant to direct the next five-years’ development. The plans include 205 proposed homes across the eight towns involved in the initiative.

The conservation guidance informing the strategy are derived from the Housatonic Valley Association’s Follow the Forest Initiative, which seeks to protect ecological connectivity amongst the woodlands spanning from Northwest Connecticut and the Hudson Valley up through Vermont and into eastern Canada. The Strategy emphasizes keeping this corridor intact: the LCCHO Strategy reports that these forests comprise “the most intact deciduous and mixed forest region on Earth,” and that “without strategic focus, the connectivity of this massive corridor will be broken.”

Notably, the group also states that “important to our collaborative work, it is conceivable that undeveloped parcels need not be conserved in their entirety in order to maintain the integrity of core forests and their connectivity.”

A key element of the Strategy is a mapping tool developed by the HVA’s GIS Manager Stacy Deming which identifies parcels within the involved eight towns that are suitable to collaborative affordable housing development and conservation efforts.

Further information, including fundraising guides, mapping tools and data resources can be found at the Strategy’s webpage cho.thehousingcollective.org, navigating to the the Northwest Connecticut Affordable Housing and Conservation Strategy under “Impact.”

Latest News

Attorney General Tong reflects on moral, economic impacts of immigration policy

It was standing-room only for Attorney General William Tong\u2019s talk on immigration at Trinity Church Lime Rock Thursday, March 7.

Photo by Ruth Epstein

LAKEVILLE — Attorney General William Tong knows first hand about the plight of immigrants.

He spoke to a standing-room-only crowd at Trinity Lime Rock Church March 6, which together with those on Zoom totaled 225. The event was hosted by Vecinos Seguros 2, a grassroots organization that works to make sure those without legal status know their rights.

Keep ReadingShow less
Old Saybrook wins 54-36 over Housy in state tournament
Housatonic's Daniela Brennan matched up against Old Saybrook's Breleigh Cooke in round two of the Class S state tournament March 5.
Photo by Riley Klein

FALLS VILLAGE — Housatonic Valley Regional High School got knocked out of the state playoff by Old Saybrook High School March 5.

HVRHS, the eighth seed, hosted Old Saybrook, seeded ninth, for round two of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Class S tournament. As the eighth and ninth seeds in the tournament, both teams earned byes for the first round of the state postseason.

Keep ReadingShow less
In Appreciation: Maureen Brady

Maureen Brady, the first woman to be elected first selectman of Kent, died on Feb. 23 at her home after a long illness.
Brady, who served from 1985 to 1992, devoted much of her life to serving the community she loved.

Moving here with her young family from Queens, New York, when her husband, Thomas, became resident state trooper in Sherman, she quickly got involved in municipal activities by becoming secretary to then First Selectman Eugene O’Meara in 1973, and later to Robert Ward. Ward stepped down after two terms, and with his deep encouragement, she ran and won the town’s top spot.

Keep ReadingShow less
Shirley Mae MacCallum

EAST CANAAN — With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of Shirley Mae MacCallum, a cherished wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt and friend, who passed away peacefully at the age of 94 on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, at her home in East Canaan. She was predeceased by her beloved husband, Toby MacCallum, with whom she shared many years of love and companionship.

Shirley was born on Aug. 27, 1930, in Irving, Massachusetts, to the late Edgar and Henrietta (Jodway) Daigneault. A proud graduate of Agawam High School in 1947, she went on to lead a life filled with hard work, love, and a spirit that touched everyone who knew her. Over the years, Shirley worked at Kaman Aircraft Corporation, where she built a solid foundation for her family, and later pursued her passion for antiques as the proud owner of Toby’s Antiques in East Canaan. She was known for her eye for unique treasures and her warm, welcoming nature that made all who entered feel like family.

Keep ReadingShow less