Land Use and Conservation
Bigelow Hollow, photo by G. L. Sweetnam
The Last Green Valley is a surprising place – an unexpected and beautiful green oasis in the midst of the most densely populated area of the country. It is our home and our legacy, and it still 77% forested and farmed.
The University of Connecticut, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR) has generated land cover data from LANDSAT satellite imagery dating from 2010. Explore your town’s natural resources (as well as a tremendous amount of water, land, and climate information) on the CLEAR website. Or view this chart for a summary of the agricultural and forested land cover data for your town: The Last Green Valley Land Cover Data 2010.
Learn more about TLGV’s programs that help support and promote Agriculture and Forestry in The Last Green Valley. Together we can grow the industries that sustain our unique rural landscape.
Funding Opportunities
The Heritage Transaction Fund is a new small-grant program for non-profits, towns and cities in The Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor. The grants will be awarded to projects that will permanently protect significant historic properties or structures, agriculture or forested lands, important wildlife habitat or open spaces suitable for passive, nature-based recreation. The grant funds can be used for closing costs such as filing fees, title work, attorney fees, surveys, appraisals and other costs associated with projects that are “nearing the home stretch” but need additional funds to complete the deal.
Click here for more information and application instructions. The grant application deadline is March 29.
Development Projects
TLGV periodically receives requests for comments on projects that may affect the National Heritage Corridor’s natural, historic, or cultural resources. TLGV may, in its discretion, provide comments to federal or state agencies in certain instances. Click here for the Board’s Development Policy.
Letters of Support
TLGV may support projects and initiatives that are consistent with our mission and federal legislation, consistent with one or more major goals of our planning documents and annual work plans, and requested by a public agency or nonprofit organization, or a private entity that is seeking funds or technical assistance from a public agency or nonprofit.
Requests for letters of support should be made to the Executive Director, who will decide if a letter of support from The Last Green Valley, Inc. is consistent with this policy. A letter will be prepared by the Executive Director and sent in a timely fashion. Letters of support will be reported to the Board of Directors.
What do you want The Last Green Valley to look and feel like in twenty years? Join TLGV to help conserve the farms, forests, and open spaces that we all cherish.
