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 84% forested and farmed.

View this Land Use Cover Spreadsheet and Land Use Cover Map for a town-by-town summary of land cover (from 2016 National Land Cover Data), showing forested and agricultural lands in The Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor. For a deeper dive into land use data layers, including a comprehensive look at protected open space, click here for the Conservation Mega Mapper.

Find out 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.

Learn more about how you can conserve your land by reading “Your Family Land – Legacy or Memory?” and by checking out the following publications by the CT Land Conservation Council: “What is a Land Trust” and “Protecting the Land You Love.”  Combined, these publications provide a good introduction to the land protection process.

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.