Southbury Land Trust Preserves Over 1,000 Acres

A conservation easement donation by Mike and Lauren Lyons has lifted the Southbury Land Trust’s preserved land over the 1,000 acre mark.

“Thanks to the Lyons’ donation we now have 246A in easement land and we own an additional 783A,” said Tom Crider, president of the Land Trust. Using a combination of grants, private fundraising, Town of Southbury open space funds, and landowner donations, over the past 10 years the Land Trust has grown its portfolio of protected land from 422A to more than 1,000A on 57 properties, he said.

“Our focus in recent years has been on protecting farmland because it tends to be the most vulnerable to subdivision and it’s the best way to keep Southbury’s rural character alive,” Crider said. The Lyons property, located on Kettletown Road, adds 10.4A of farmland to the Land Trust’s already preserved 440 farm acres.

Putting a conservation easement on land means that it must stay in its current natural state and cannot be developed. The Land Trust is responsible for insuring the terms of the easement are followed. The landowner continues to own the property and can sell it or leave it to heirs, but the easement remains in effect with any new owner.

The Lyons’ easement adds pasture land for beef cattle to the agricultural category of open space. As with most other agricultural easements, the Lyons property is not open to the public, although the properties owned in fee by the Land Trust are all open from dawn to dusk.

Of their donation, Mike Lyons said, “We are only here on this earth for a short time and feel strongly that conservation and preservation are the truest form of stewardship. The conservation easement on our small piece of farmland is a form of development too…Just in a way that ensures that our land will remain as it was before we were born, while allowing us the benefit and enjoyment of it for our lifetime.”

Crider said the Lyons will be able to claim a charitable deduction for the value of the easement on their federal tax return. He said the more favorable formula for such deductions which was in place for 2006 and 2007 will be extended if Congress approves it this year. Congressman Chris Murphy has made such an extension a priority, Crider said.

“The success of the Southbury Land Trust is part of a nationwide trend,” Crider said. “As in Southbury, people everywhere are realizing the benefits of land preservation in terms of scenic value, wildlife habitat, recreation and liveable communities. In 2007, conservation groups across the country preserved more than 2 million acres — more land than was developed.”