Housatonic Valley’s ‘Conservation Hero’ leaves lasting legacy

Lynn Werner, executive director of the Housatonic Valley Association, has been a driving force in land and water conservation for more than 40 years.
Debra A. Aleksinas
Lynn Werner, executive director of the Housatonic Valley Association, has been a driving force in land and water conservation for more than 40 years.
“Her heart is always with the water, and yet under her leadership, HVA became more than a watershed organization but also an accredited land trust.” —Tim Abbott, conservation director, Housatonic Valley Association
CORNWALL — Lynn Werner was smitten by the smelts.
Fresh out of college, she landed a job as a researcher with the state fisheries division counting young salmon.
“It was a phenomenal job. We would set up traps mid-stream and count the smelts in there and then release them. I would hang onto the rocks and just be one with the water,” as the small, silvery fish sparkled and splashed around her.
“I could have done that forever,” she recalled.
Fortunately for the Cornwall-based Housatonic Valley Association, which she joined in 1982, Werner soon found herself advocating for the streams, rivers, wetlands and forests that had been such an integral part of her youth.
“I benefitted from the Clean Water Act. If I had to sit next to a river or lake and not be able to swim in it, that would be my idea of torture,” said Werner, 67, who has been a staunch advocate in land and water conservation for more than four decades.
Since she became executive director in 1995, HVA has expanded its staff from five to 17, quadrupled its budget and launched transformative conservation initiatives.
Earlier this year, Werner announced her plan to retire from her role at HVA effective June 30.
“We just finished our strategic plan, and I felt it was a good time,” she explained recently over a cup of coffee at the Warren General Store, a short distance from her Kent home.
“I started discussing it in earnest in 2023, going into 2024 with several board members,” Werner explained. A search committee has selected her yet unnamed successor and plans to make the announcement later this month.
In the meantime, Werner said she will be assisting with the transition.
Long list of accomplishments
As executive director, Werner oversees the day-to-day management of the association including collaborating with individuals, groups and agencies with the goal of maintaining a healthy river system.
The association recently received an accreditation renewal from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission for a third five-year term.
Werner’s list of accomplishments includes the restoration of Furnace Brook Fishway in Cornwall that allowed trout to swim upstream to spawn for the first time in 20 years. She also was instrumental in ensuring that General Electric and the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) clean up the PCBs in the watershed system and created the River Smart campaign to study the impact of polluted runoff and how to reduce it.
HVA, under Werner’s leadership, successfully fought to reroute a natural gas pipeline away from protected lands and wetlands, stopped a superhighway route through the scenic river ridgeline and saved 6,000 acres of river valley from developers.
She credited collaboration, both within HVA and in the communities, as the key to her success. “You can only be as great as the team you’re working with, and we’ve also been fortunate to collaborate with so many wonderful partners. There is a really strong network of both nonprofits and community leaders working to protect this tristate river valley, and this gives me hope for the future.”
The association also launched the “Follow the Forest” initiative to protect a connected woodland wildlife corridor and conducted educational programs for kindergarten to high school students on biology, ecology and chemistry of the watershed.
“Protecting the core forest corridor throughout the Housatonic River watershed makes climate resiliency sense. And this region is part of a much larger corridor stretching into Canada,” she explained.
Werner stressed the importance of getting kids with “nature deficit disorder” involved in the environment, as they are the environmental leaders of the future.
What you love, you protect, said Warner, who early on in her career co-chaired and helped form the Clean Water Coalition and served on the legislature’s Aquifer Protection Task Force.“And most kids seem to love a good splash in a stream, and especially a nose-to-nose moment with a frog, it’s a joy to behold.”
Werner felt that defending nature begins in the place where you live.
“A lot of people don’t know how much power they have,” she noted. “Take a stand where you are, small or big. Join the fight to protect that river or woodland or meadow or view that you love. And everyone can do one important thing in their own backyard or neighborhood to keep a stream healthy and a fish friendly, or feed and shelter butterflies and birds, or let rain replenish groundwater and wetlands. If you’re not sure where to start, just ask your favorite conservation group.”
Rivers, by their gentle beauty, are always moving, they’re always singing and the sound that they make is always soothing, reflected Werner.
“That river can’t fight for itself. It gives so much when you think about all that beauty, all that spiritual replenishment, all that life. We’re its voice and sometimes we have to fight for it.”
Lauded as ‘Conservation Hero’
In late March, the Connecticut Land Conservation Council (CLCC) honored Werner with its coveted Conservation Hero Award for her legacy of transformative leadership in the Housatonic Valley.
The council cited her role as co-founder of the Litchfield Hills Greenprint, her success with preserving more than 15,000 acres through the Stanley Works project, riverfront greenways and recent woodland corridor conservation.
Werner’s advocacy, according to the CLCC, has shaped public policy, strengthened stream flow protections, wetland conservation and strategic land preservation.
“She was instrumental in securing a settlement from General Electric for PCB contamination clean-up and helped achieve the 2022 Wild & Scenic designation for forty-one miles of the Housatonic River.”
HVA President Tony Zunino lauded Werner’s 40-year tenure with the organization earlier this year during its Annual Auction for the Environment. “Lynn’s leadership and vision has made an indelible mark on the Housatonic Valley Association,” he said in announcing her intent to retire.
Tim Abbott, conservation director at HVA, said her passion stems from her start back in the early 1980’s as a fisheries researcher with the state.
“She still looks back with evident joy and pride on the time she got to spend in rivers and streams counting salmon smelts. Her heart is always with the water, and yet under her leadership, HVA became more than a watershed organization but also an accredited land trust.”
Reflecting on Werner’s leadership style, Abbott noted: “HVA’s core conservation approach — collaborative, solution-oriented, grounded in science and the conviction that strong partners can do far more together than any of us can do alone — are Lynn’s greatest gift and legacy.”
Werner credited her entire team at HVA for their motivation, knowledge and talent. “It’s an honor, a joy, to work every day with such skilled and passionate people.”
In her retirement, Werner said she is looking forward to spending more time with her husband, seeing her grandchildren more, learning new cooking styles and staying connected to environmental causes.
She currently serves as president of the Rivers Alliance of Connecticut, is on the board of the Connecticut Legislative Conservation Voters and the Steep Rock Association.
“I am looking to stay in the game in a different way and be able to provide hands-on help in a way I haven’t been able to. It’s been an incredible journey and I have been incredibly fortunate.”
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Guests of the carnival at Bunny McGuire Park had a wide variety of rides to choose from, including a classic merry-go-round.
NORTH CANAAN — Four days of festivities concluded Saturday, July 19, with the grand finale of Canaan Summer Nights.
The carnival first arrived at Bunny McGuire Park on Wednesday, kicking off North Canaan Event Committee’s new vision for summer activities in town.
What was previously known as Railroad Days was separated this year into two parts: Canaan Summer Nights in July; and Old Railroad Days Aug. 7 to 10.
Katelin Lopes and Tessa Dekker beneath the fireworks on Saturday, July 19.Photo by Simon Markow
In addition to the carnival last week, the Douglas Library hosted a Roaring 20s cocktail party (see story on Page A9) and the St. Martin of Tours Parish Church of St. Joseph hosted a barbecue chicken dinner on the lawn.
A mix of antique and modern fire engines from Canaan, Lakeville, Norfolk, Sharon, Winsted, Falls Village, Cornwall, Salisbury, and other regional departments paraded down Main Street in the Saturday evening sun. The town welcomed them with waves and applause. Shortly behind the rescue engines were local sports champions, tractors, racecars, trucks and “Ted’s Comedy Wagon” with an endless supply of jokes.
After the sun went down, the crowd only got bigger. At around 9:30 p.m. the fireworks show began and everyone that was lined up for a ride or cotton candy turned to watch. The lucky few at the top of the Ferris wheel got the best view. The fireworks were a token of gratitude for the support of local businesses, vendors, the fire department and to parents carrying prize stuffed animals larger than the children that won them.
Supported by a $250,000 LEAP grant in late June, the 5,200-acre acquisition of a permanent conservation easement by the Kent-based Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy protects the land surrounding the Colebrook Reservoir, the state’s largest remaining untapped drinking water reservoir.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont (D) announced July 15 that the state is awarding $14.3 million in Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition (OSWA) grants to protect 2,270 acres across 22 towns.
The grants, administered to land conservation groups by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), include five properties in the Northwest Connecticut towns of Cornwall, Kent, Salisbury and Sharon, encompassing more than 400 acres with awards totaling more than $3 million.
Trio of grants for NCLC
The Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy (NCLC) has received three significant grant awards to support the acquisition and permanent protection of three properties essential for public recreation and ecological resilience, totaling 5,425 acres. A $1.3 million grant through OSWA leads a trio of recent awards supporting land conservation in Connecticut. The other two grants, totaling $348,500, were awarded by the Connecticut Land Conservation Council’s Land Easement and Acquisition Program (LEAP).
According to NCLC, together, these grants underscore the strong and widespread commitment of public agencies, private organizations, and local communities to conserving natural and working agricultural lands.
Properties being protected include Surdan Mountain Preserve in Sharon, the Colebrook Reservoir Conservation Easement and the Strauss Morrisey Preserve Expansion in Sherman.
The properties provide critical habitat for rare, threatened and endangered species by safeguarding clean water sources, supporting natural wildlife corridors and offering new public access to nature.
With the $1.3M award from OSWA, the protection of the 108-acre Surdan Mountain parcel, which adjoins the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail corridor, will be accessible to all when the preserve opens to the public.
The property includes a dramatic scenic view stretching 20 miles to the summit of Bear Hill, the highest peak in Connecticut; to the peak of Mount Frissell in Massachusetts, and Mount Race in New York State.
The Colebrook Reservoir Conservation Easement was supported by a $250,000 LEAP grant award. The 5,200-acre acquisition of a permanent conservation easement on this parcel protects Connecticut’s largest remaining untapped drinking water reservoir, which directly feeds the designated National Wild and Scenic Farmington River.
“We are incredibly grateful to all our partners for helping to make these acquisitions possible, especially during a time of funding uncertainty,” said NCLC Executive Director Catherine Rawson. “These acquisitions are a big win for our environment and communities.”
A pair of grants
in Cornwall
The Cornwall Conservation Trust earned two OSWA grants, one in the amount of $122,200 for its 41.78-acre Cobble Forest project, and a second, $195,000 grant for its 90-acre Furnace Brook Forest project.
The Cobble Forest property boasts a scenic ridgeline containing Heffers Brook, a high-quality cold-water stream that flows into Mill Brook, a tributary of the Housatonic River. The property rises 330 feet from Heffers Brook along its frontage, up to the rocky slopes of The Cobble. The purchase will create a 332-acre forest lock including Cornwall Conservation Trust’s Day Preserve, Walker Preserve and the Housatonic State Forest.
Furnace Brook is a forested ridgeline parcel on the slopes of Dean Hill, across the road from Wyantenock State Forest. It links to the conservation trust’s Furnace Brook Preserve, a 2018 OSWA grant. The Housatonic Heritage Area’s Hou-Bike trail and Housatonic Covered Bridge trail pass along the property frontage.
Shelley Harms, executive director of Cornwall Conservation Trust, noted that the state’s open space grant program makes it possible for local land trusts to purchase important conservation lands and for landowners to achieve their conservation goals.
“We are so lucky. We live in this beautiful area, and we have a state that invests in protecting our precious forests and streams and wildlife,” said Harms. “With the help of these two state grants, Cornwall Conservation Trust is buying two properties upstream from the Housatonic River within a loop formed by the Mohawk Trail and the Appalachian Trail, part of a gorgeous scenic area and connected to other preserved land.
“People can admire those forested ridges from many points in Cornwall,” she noted, “and when the hiking trails are created, people can immerse themselves in nature and hike up to overlooks where they can enjoy the whole panorama.”
Protecting Kent’s
agricultural history
The Kent Land Trust received a $422,500 OSWA grant for its 62.2-acre Halsted Lovig Property project on Camp Flat Road.
The property in southern Kent bordering New Milford is iconic to Kent’s agricultural past. For several decades it was a humus farm but has been vacant for the past quarter-century. The Kent Land Trust plans to create a recreational resource and protect its critical ecological functions.
The property is exceptional for recreation, nestled between two popular trail systems enabling trail connectivity along a roadway convenient to Kent’s Center on the main route of the Western New England Greenway ad Hou-Bike Walk Trails.
The property also contains diverse wetlands and spring-fed open pools, with data suggesting these habitats support at least seven avian species in great need of protection.
Grant targets Salisbury’s Miles Mountain
The Salisbury Association, Inc., received a $886,600 OSWA grant for its 163.59-acre Miles Mountain project. “Ours was one of the larger ones,” said John Landon, committee chair for the Salisbury Association Land Trust. “We felt pretty secure,” he said of the grant submission,” but it’s official now.”
The property on Weatogue Road is easterly of Tom’s Hill, a previous Salisbury Association OSWA-acquired property. It is subject to a 57-acre conservation easement held by Trustees of Reservations, so the DEEP OSWA conservation easement will encumber 163.59 acres, which surrounds the already preserved parcel on three sides.
An LLC comprising community members had formed to protect Miles Mountain from development until the land trust could raise enough funds to purchase the land from the LLC.
Landon said OSWA will fund up to 65% of the purchase price, and he is optimistic that a Federal Highlands Grant will cover most of the balance, “very similar to the Tom’s Hill scenario,” which was also protected from development by a conservation-minded group of community members which formed an LLC to protect that land.
“From large tracts of land to small pocket parks, this group of projects benefits a variety of communities across the state,” said DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes, who noted that since the state’s open space program began in 1998, more than $190 million in state funding has been awarded to municipalities, nonprofit land conservation groups and water companies to assist in the protection of more than 48,000 acres of publicly accessible land.