Land Trust moves to protect kettle pond

SHARON — Henry David Thoreau made famous, through his writing, a kettle pond named Walden in Concord, Mass.

Thoreau’s transcendentalist manifesto, aptly titled “Walden,†sparked a new sense of environmental awareness in American society. But in the 150 years since his work was published, Thoreau’s kettle pond has deteriorated, the victim of development.

Larry Power and the Sharon Land Trust (he is the group’s president) don’t want to see the same thing happen to a kettle pond that makes its home right here in Sharon.

Kettle ponds are bodies of water formed long ago by retreating glaciers that created a depression in the land and exposed the water table to the surface. They have no defined inlet or outlet (which means there are no fish).

The pond that the trust wants to protect is located on a farm owned by John and Charlotte Frost.

The trust wants to purchase a conservation easement on approximately 20 acres of the farm, including 1,480 feet of Housatonic River frontage and an island in the river.

The group also hopes to purchase a second parcel of land that consists of a 5-acre field that abuts the Frost property and 1,262 feet of river frontage, all owned by Connecticut Light and Power (CL&P).

The 1,262 feet of river frontage would connect on the north to several  miles of conserved riverfront owned by the National Parks Service. The power company’s land would extend a trail system that runs all the way to the town of Kent.

This acquisition would secure new public access for fishing, boating, hiking and wildlife observation. When he talks about the land trust project, Power expresses considerable enthusiasm.

“This is a tremendously ambitious and exciting project,†he said. “But it has also been very complicated to put together.â€

 The land trust and the Housatonic Valley Association have applied for a $702,338 grant from the Housatonic River Basin Resource Restoration Project, which is part of the river cleanup being funded by General Electric.

According to Power, a decision on the grant should be reached by July 1, 2008.

Both the purchase and grant application have received the blessing of the Nature Conservancy, the Housatonic River Commission and the town of Sharon.

The entire cost of the project is being quoted at about $1 million; the land trust will need to raise $300,000. The Housatonic Valley Association has pledged $30,000.

Power is confident the money can be raised if the grant is awarded.

“The environmental importance to aquatic life, and the beauty of this land combined with the public benefit of extending the trail system should make the purchase very appealing to Sharon donors.â€

That environmental importance is significant. A preliminary study conducted in May by Laurie Doss of Kent’s Marvelwood School shows the presence of wood frogs, spotted salamanders, and Jefferson salamanders.

Wood frogs and spotted salamanders are listed under Connecticut’s Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy as important species. Jefferson salamanders are listed as a very important species. The absence of fish in the pond allows these species to breed and thrive without threat of predation.

The pond is also described as a stratified drift aquifer. Such aquifers are naturally filtered and purified as they pass through sand and gravel, which means that the water they discharge into the Housatonic is especially pure.

Fundraising efforts will begin in earnest next summer. For more information or to become a donor, contact the Sharon Land Trust, P.O. Box 1027, Sharon, CT 06069 or e-mail at Sharonlandtrust@earthlink.net.