State Has a Beefed-Up Open Space Plan

Light hiking spots and other recreational opportunities like it are supposed to grow under a new state initiative.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Thursday joined Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Daniel Esty, Department of Agriculture Commissioner Steven Reviczky, and environmental advocates for a ceremonial bill signing for Public Act 12-152 - An Act Concerning the State’s Open Space Plan. 

The governor said the legislation is designed to strengthen Connecticut’s efforts to preserve "important land" as open space.

“Protecting open space is paramount to preserving our quality of life,” Malloy said. “By improving the way we coordinate land management and planning, we will make sure that we strike the right balance between development and land conservation, and protect the immense natural beauty of our state.”

The new law will help Connecticut meet the goal of protecting 673,210 acres, or 21 percent, of state land as open space by 2023. It requires the DEEP to:

• Update the state’s open space plan by Dec. 15 and then at least once every five years.

• Prioritize land acquisition to integrate existing priorities such as wildlife habitat and ecological resources having the greatest need of immediate preservation.

• Make recommendations for establishing a voluntary statewide catalogue to keep track of all conserved lands - private, municipal, state, and federal — in a format that is easily accessible to the public.

• Develop a plan to identify and permanently protect land of conservation value that is held by other state agencies.

“This law puts a sharper focus on land conservation efforts and DEEP looks forward to working with a variety of partners during implementation,” Esty said.  “It also requires us to think more creatively and develop a strategy to better prioritize and track our progress—all important to meeting our ultimate goal of protecting 21 percent of Connecticut’s land.”

Reviczky said the new law "recognizes the critical importance of working lands and strengthens the efforts to preserve them through a strategic, collaborative approach among agencies and organizations that protect land in the state."

He Called Connecticut, "a model for the nation on this front.”

Malloy said with the assistance of two other DEEP initiatives, the Recreational and Natural Heritage Trust Program and the Open Space and Watershed Grant Program, Connecticut currently protects 493,452 acres of land as open space. 

Public Act 12-152 had widespread support from state officials and advocates and was signed by the Governor on June 15.