Salem
Land Trust
Salem
Land Trust
P.O. Box 2133, Salem, Connecticut, 06420, USA
A 501c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to conserving the natural resources of the Salem area for future generations- the water courses, swamps, meadows, and woodlands, the plant and animal life therein, as well as scenic, natural and historic sites; helping to preserve the area’s beauty, rural character and natural diversity.
SLT Events & Educational
Nature Hikes
For information on events: 860-859-3520 or Lschroeder@snet.net
CT Botanical Society Field Trip to
The Salem Land Trust’s
Zemko Sawmill Preserve
180 Rattlesnake Ledge Road
September 11, 10:00 am
OPEN TO ALL
The CT Botanical Society President, Carol Lemmon, will lead.
From the CT Botanical Society web site, www.ct-botanical-society.org/: “Please come and explore this Salem Land Trust owned preserve which has 72 acres, 32 classified as wetlands. The property is characterized by diverse natural communities including wetlands, vernal pools, rocky outcroppings, ledges and mixed hemlock and hardwood forests. Canoes will be available for use in the large swamp/beaver impoundment.
Field trips are a long-standing tradition of the Connecticut Botanical Society. They provide an opportunity to learn about Connecticut's plants and habitats from some of the area's most knowledgeable botanists -- and an opportunity to share your own knowledge with others. The trips also add to knowledge of the state's flora. On each field trip, we make a list of all plant species we have identified, and this list becomes part of the Society's records.
For the field trips, wear sturdy footwear and bring a lunch. Sunscreen and insect repellant are also recommended. For plant identification, you may want to bring field guide(s), a hand lens, and a small notebook. Familiarity with plant taxonomy is helpful, but not required.”
Annual
Land Trust Photo Contest
This year five local Land Trusts are sponsoring the Annual Photo Contest- The Lyme Land Conservation Trust, The Old Lyme Conservation Trust, The Salem Land Trust, The East Haddam Land Trust and the newest sponsor, the Essex Land Trust. The purpose behind the photo contest is to promote Lyme, Old Lyme, Salem, East Haddam and Essex’s diversified wildlife, the scenic beauty of their natural resources and their historic and cultural heritage that we are all trying to preserve.
Contest Rules and Entry Form are available on the Lyme Land Conservation Trust's web site: http://www.lymelandtrust.org/photo_contest.html
NEW SLT Press Links:
SLT's Amphibian Walk on The New London "Day" website: http://www.theday.com/article/20100420/MEDIA0102/100429973
Read about SLT's latest land acquisition project on the Norwich Bulletin website: http://www.norwichbulletin.com/carousel/x932352101/Salem-Land-Trust-aims-to-keep-land-pristine
See winning photos from the land trust Photo Contest: http://landtrustsphotos.shutterfly.com/
TAKE A HIKE!
Directions to the Salem Land Trust Properties:
Darling Road Preserve- 101 acres
From Salem 4-corners: West, [toward East Haddam] onto Rt. 82 for 1.2 mi., then left on Darling Rd. for 0.3 mi., right onto White Birch Rd. for 0.6 mi., straight ahead to Darling Rd. for 0.7 mi. Preserve entrance, with Trail Map, is on the left; park along road or 0.2 miles further at The Nature Conservancy owned Winslow Property. Dogs are allowed on leashes; no hunting or motorized vehicles.
Tatson’s Woods- 8 acres
From Salem 4-corners: West, [toward East Haddam] onto Rt. 82 for 2.2 mi. Entrance to preserve on the left. Parking is along Rt. 82 across from entrance. Preserve is approximately 0.5 mi. walk in from Rt 82, along a marked right-of-way. Dogs are allowed on leashes; no hunting or motorized vehicles.
Alf & Sylvia Bingham Preserve- 4 acres
From Salem 4-Corners: West, [toward East Haddam] on Rt 82 for 1.2 mi., left onto Darling for 0.9 mi., entrance and parking on the left. Please follow the right-of-way to Preserve entrance. Dogs are allowed on leashes; no hunting or motorized vehicles.
The Ahnert Property- 6 acres
From Salem 4-Corners: North on Rt. 85 for 2.3 mi. The property is on the right with parking just off the road. No trails, but easy access from the road. Dogs are allowed on leashes; no hunting or motorized vehicles.
Zemko Sawmill Preserve- 72 acres
From Salem 4-corners: North on 85 for 1.9 mi., right onto Rattlesnake Ledge Rd. for 0.9 mi. Entrance/parking on the left along dirt driveway. Dogs are allowed on leashes; no hunting or motorized vehicles.
The Zemko Sawmill Preserve at 180 Rattlesnake Ledge Road is SLT’s newest property. The driveway entrance is near the Town Transfer Station entrance, on the opposite side of the road. Part way up the driveway there is a cable blocking off the parking lot beyond. Please park on the side of the driveway before the chain and walk in. We remove the chain when we have group walks with large numbers of cars.
There is a large pile of sawdust at the lower end of the parking lot; the Orange Trail starts to the Left of this pile and connects to the Main Red Trail. The location of the now dismantled sawmill is just beyond the sawdust pile and beyond this old sawmill location, on the left, is the start of Main Red Trail.
Additional properties open to the Public for Hiking in Salem:
Walden Preserve, 400acres- owned by The Nature Conservancy
From Salem 4-Corners, take Rt. 85 N., in 0.5 mi. turn left onto Hagen Rd., Preserve parking lot 200' on right. Service dogs only are allowed. Please, no pets. No hunting. No motorized vehicles except for authorized handicapped and maintenance vehicles.
Zemko Pond Wildlife Management Area- owned by State of CT DEP
From Salem 4-Corners take Rt. 85 N. 1.34 mi., turn right onto Round Hill Rd., 1 mi. to Zemko Pond parking lot on Right. No motorized vehicles. Hunting is allowed in-season with State issued permit only, see DEP web site for information.
Salem Land Trust Membership
Please use these links to learn more about land preservation and what Land Trusts do:
More helpful links:
The Salem Land Trust Earns National Recognition
Accreditation Awarded by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission
Salem, CT – The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, an organization of over 1,700 land trusts in the United States, announced today that The Salem Land Trust has earned accredited status. The Salem Land Trust is only the second all-volunteer land trust in the country to be so approved.
“Accredited land trusts meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever,” said Commission Executive Director Tammara Van Ryn. “The accreditation seal lets the public know that the accredited land trust has undergone an extensive, external review of the governance and management of its organization and the systems and policies it uses to protect land.”
The Salem Land Trust’s accredited status demonstrates our commitment to permanent land conservation,” says Linda K. Schroeder, Vice-President. “Our land trust is a stronger organization today having gone through the rigorous accreditation program.”
The Salem Land Trust received its non-profit status in 1999 and works in the town of Salem, Connecticut. The land trust owns 190 acres of protected land, all of which is open for the public to enjoy. In addition, SLT has worked with conservation-minded landowners to protect another 232 acres of working farms and forests to keep these lands in their undeveloped state. While having agricultural and conservation easements on them, these 232 acres are still privately owned and pay property taxes to the town of Salem.
Land is America’s most important and valuable resource. Conserving land helps ensure clean air and drinking water, food security, scenic landscapes and views, recreational places, and habitat for the diversity of life on earth. Across the country, local citizens and communities have come together to form land trusts to save the places they love. Community leaders in land trusts throughout the country have worked with willing landowners to save over 37 million acres of farms, forests, parks and places people care about. Strong, well-managed land trusts provide local communities with effective champions and caretakers of their critical land resources, and safeguard the land through the generations.
The Salem Land Trust was awarded accreditation this August along with 19 other land trusts from across the country. These 19 land trusts join 59 other land trusts that have been awarded accreditation since the fall of 2008. Accredited land trusts are able to display a seal indicating to the public that they meet national standards for excellence, uphold the public trust and ensure that conservation efforts are permanent. The seal is a mark of distinction in land conservation.
The Land Trust Accreditation Commission based in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., awards the accreditation seal to community institutions that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever. The Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance established in 2006, is governed by a volunteer board of diverse land conservation and nonprofit management experts from around the country. The Alliance, of which The Salem Land Trust is a member, is a national conservation group based in Washington, D.C. that works to save the places people love by strengthening conservation throughout America. More information on the accreditation program is available on the Commission’s website,
www.landtrustaccreditation.org. More information on the Alliance is available at www.landtrustalliance.org.
“The Salem Land Trust is very proud to have earned the right to display the accreditation seal of the Land Trust Alliance,” added David Bingham, Salem Land Trust President.
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