Johnson Farm Purchase Knits Together Open Space

The winter woods were quiet as walkers made their way through fields and woodlands newly acquired by the Branford Land Trust. Some were thinking about the decade-long efforts to obtain the properties, others considering the long road ahead to raise funds to complete the purchases. Everyone was enjoying the landscape that will be protected for generations to come.

“We all had a great time walking around,” said Meg Kilgore, president of the Land Trust. She talked about the goals of the all-volunteer organization. ​“We like to preserve nature for the benefit of people so they can get outdoors and exercise and go walking. We also care about and want to preserve the natural species. … Open space enhances the value of a community. It makes the town more pleasant and livable.”

The recent acquisitions help form a vital connection in the Pisgah Brook-Supply Ponds preserves. The new lands are like pieces of a puzzle that complete a preservation project that began more than 40 years ago when Branford purchased the 350-acre Supply Ponds property from the New Haven Water Company.

The 40 hikers, led by members of the Land Trust, began their two-mile trek last month at the DeLeo property — 9.7 acres of fields and woods at 154 Laurel Hill Road donated in 2008 by Angelo DeLeo. They continued through the Pieper Woodlands — 24 acres at 99 Laurel Hill Road that the Pieper family agreed to sell last summer at a price below market value. Then they hiked up Queach Road past the Johnson Farm, a significant project that the Land Trust has been working on for years.

“It was just so picturesque. Like a postcard,” said Land Trust director Joan Merrick as she recalled the early January hike.

“With the Johnson and the Pieper purchases, you’ll be able to do a whole loop through the preserves — Queach, Supply Ponds, Pisgah Brook, Pieper Woodlands, and Saltonstall Mountains. It will be one huge trail. It will be a fabulous hike,” Merrick said. ​“We now have a complete loop and that’s important. We’ve been talking to the Pieper family and the Johnson family for more than 10 years.”

But on the day of the walk, the final piece of the puzzle was still illusive. The Johnson Farm proposal had not yet been approved by the Representative Town Meeting.(RTM) That vote finally came Jan. 25 . It was a unanimous, bipartisan decision.

The RTM approved purchasing the agricultural easement rights to 34 acres of the Johnson Farm. The easement rights will be owned by three entities: the town of Branford, the Land Trust, and the Connecticut Farmland Trust. The easement is unique because it was effectuated while the family is still alive. It requires that their land remain as farm land, precluding development. In addition, the RTM approved the outright purchase of 3.96 acres at the northern end of the Johnson property which will serve as a connector between the Pisgah Brook and Supply Ponds preserves.

During the RTM session, Republicans and Democrats alike spoke eloquently of their support for the Johnson project. Republican Minority Leader Frank Twohill said that joining the two open space preserves has long been a town goal.

Gail Chapman-Carbone, a Democrat who chairs the administrative services committee, stood to praise Bill Horne, who worked and guided the project for years, serving as an intermediary among various local and state groups whose support was essential for the project’s success.

Chapman-Carbone asked for a round of applause for Horne. He smiled as did a number of members of the Branford Land Trust who witnessed the historic moment.

Horne has called the Pisgah Brook/Supply Ponds area Branford’s ​“crown jewel.” He said both the Pieper and Johnson properties are key because of their strategic location near the preserves. A trail head and trail will be built on the Pieper property to access the Supply Ponds. A trailhead on the nearby DeLeo property connects to the Pisgah Brook and Saltonstall Mountain preserves.

Horne later spoke with the Eagle regarding the project. ​“We’re delighted that the RTM unanimously agreed with the Select Committee on Open Space Acquisition and the Land Trust that keeping a working farm in this part of Branford is an important investment for Branford’s future,” Horne said. ​“I particularly want to thank the members of the Administrative Services and Ways & Means committees for their patience and support as we worked to finalize all the details of the agreements.”

Horne also extended his appreciation to the Johnson family. ​“I want to thank the owners of the farm, Bucky Johnson and Stephanie Page, for working with us through the long process of reaching final agreement to protect their farm.”

Ainsley Highman, a Land Trust member and chair of the Parks and Open Space Authority, worked with Horne on the Johnson Farm project. During the committee review process, Highman said, ​“The investment is one time, but the benefits continue into perpetuity.”

Force To Be Reckoned With

The Land Trust’s history developing public awareness for land preservation was born out of a public outcry in the 1980’s to save the 70-acre Beacon Hill area. Developers efforts to purchase the property were thwarted by the efforts of the Land Trust and by a grass-roots organization known as the Beacon Hill Preservation Society.

“It was the first fund-raising project of the Land Trust,” said Jeff Clark in a previous interview with the Eagle. Clark was president of the organization during the two-year fund-raising campaign. ​“It was the first time anybody tried to raise money for any preservation project in Branford …It sent a signal that this was a force to be reckoned with — that people want to preserve land.”

In 1990, the state spent $1.35 million to purchase the Beacon Hill Preserve, coupled with $850,000 from Branford and a $500,000 contribution from the Branford Land Trust

One of the longtime members of the Land Trust and a former president and fund-raiser is Peter Borgemeister. He recalled the battle to preserve Beacon Hill. ​“That was a fight, but look at it now,” he said. ​“I get a lot of satisfaction out of looking at Beacon Hill.”

Borgemeister’s favorite Land Trust property is the Pinchot parcel along Route 146, toward the Guilford line. He worked to acquire the property and headed up the fund-raising campaign in the 1990’s.

“I have my heart at Pinchot,” he said. ​“There’s a beautiful little lake in there …And another thing I love about Pinchot, it has a lot of land forms — tidal wetlands, inland wetlands and a vernal pool. There are a lot of undulations of land with different plants and environments. It’s a beautiful place. That’s what makes land interesting, when there is variety and contrast.”

He also has a lot of experience in land acquisition, which is an art form in itself.

Borgemeister said talking to landowners about donating or selling land at a nominal price is a complex task. ​“It’s a long process. It averages seven years between the first contact with a land-owner and getting the deed.” 

He said persistence and politeness are imperative to being successful. ​“It’s a low-key business,” Borgemeister said. ​“You have to wait. You’ll maybe get a quarter of the people you ask. Some people are remarkable.”

He said when the Land Trust is working to acquire property, there is no publicity. ​“The Land Trust by its nature has to be silent (about prospective acquisitions). You don’t blab about trying to acquire a property. It’s a silent force.”

Borgemeister was elated about the two recent acquisitions. ​“There was a gap. Pieper and Johnson will bridge that gap. The connection is very important. It’s important from the standpoint of wildlife — they need unbroken area. And a lot of people hike the Supply Ponds area. They enjoy it so much. They’re all in a good mood and smiling when you pass them.”

Other acquisitions in 2010 include 8.8 acres, now called Gambardella Pines, off Stony Creek Road, donated by Dr. John and Nina Gambardella; and 10.76 acres of woods and wetlands along Cherry Hill Road donated by Betty Ann Trapasso in memory of the Sliney family. The property abuts the Land Trust’s Hammer Woodlands.

For a listing of Land Trust properties and projects, both past and future, visit their website.

Cost Of Preservation

Now that the acquisitions have been approved, the Land Trust is beginning the task of raising funds for the purchases. A goal of $475,000 has been set — - that includes funds for Pieper Woodlands, the Johnson property and for a stewardship fund that will be used for maintenance costs on all the properties.

“We really hope people in town will support us to whatever extent they can, either financially or by volunteering,” Kilgore said. ​“It takes a lot of people, it truly takes a village.”

The Branford Land Trust, which began in 1967, currently owns about 900 acres in 109 parcels ranging from woodlands to coastal property to tiny rock islands. The largest single parcel is the Van Wie Preserve off Red Hill Road which constitutes about 100 acres that was donated between 1978 and 2005.

“We’re really grateful for people who give us all these acres because it’s hard to raise money for purchasing and maintaining,” Kilgore said in regard to the donations.

In addition, the Land Trust owns easement rights to some properties which the town owns, such as the Queach property. Kilgore said that means the Land Trust is one of the official overseers to help ensure the property is maintained and used correctly. 

The fund-raising campaign has started on a small scale, with Land Trust members contacting corporations, foundations and individuals. In the next several weeks, the campaign will go to the public with mass mailings, and opportunities to view the lands.

“We’ll schedule a series of public walks and invite everyone to join us,” Merrick said, as she talked about the Land Trust volunteers.

“We really enjoy working together. We have people with lots of different talents — trail maintenance, office work, grant writing — there’s a whole array of jobs,” Merrick said. ​“We’re all working toward a common goal to protect valuable land in Branford. We’d like to see future generations enjoy what people have enjoyed for years.”

Kilgore, Merrick, Horne and Bob Babcock are heading up the fund-raising campaign. They are all on the Land Trust’s board of directors.

Babcock acknowledges that the economy presents a challenge. ​“We’re going to have a little bit tougher battle to fight, but I think the outcome will be positive,” he said. ​“I think that people are willing to give if they feel the cause is worthwhile.”

Babcock said the Land Trust’s reputation makes him optimistic about the campaign.

“The Branford Land Trust has been around a long time and it has a wonderful reputation. And our lands are used. Everybody benefits from them,” Babcock said. ​“The Land Trust is very successful in preserving the right properties. When people have a willingness to donate or sell at a nominal cost, that’s a huge endorsement.”

Babcock said some corporations have already agreed to provide matching grants for individual donations.

“I also personally get very excited,” Babcock said in regard to the challenge of raising funds. ​“We are in tough times so we have to work harder and that makes going across the goal line very exciting.”

The Land Trust has already received a $175,000 grant toward the Pieper purchase from the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Open Space Watershed Land Acquisition program

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Marcia Chambers contributed reporting.