GLCT and Bartlett Family Will Preserve 125 Acres Near Bluff Head
The Guilford Land Conservation Trust (GLCT) will buy 61 acres on Totoket Mountain in North Guilford from the Bartlett family at its market value of $425,000, and the family has agreed to donate to GLCT without charge another 60 acres on the mountain. The combined 125-acre deal will be the second-largest in the history of GLCT.
The agreement was spearheaded by Libby Bartlett, who passed away February 21, 2020, at age 100. The land trust has agreed to name the parcels the Bartlett Land Preserve in honor of her and her family’s conservation leadership in North Guilford for decades.
“Members of the Bartlett family are delighted that we have an agreement with the Guilford Land Conservation Trust that will enable the land to remain in open space,” Libby Bartlett said when the agreements were signed in late January. “This land has been in the Bartlett family for generations. It was purchased initially by Erastus (Ted) Dudley Bartlett for timber, and we always hoped that it could be kept in its natural state.”
The New England Trail passes over one of the parcels, and the other has trails from the Cooks Lane trailhead. They include pristine wetlands in both the Coginchaug River and West River watersheds. Together with adjoining land owned by GLCT, the Town of Guilford, and the Regional Water Authority, they connect thousands of acres of preserved open space serving as a vital wildlife corridor.
“These two parcels are by far the largest private holdings on Totoket Mountain, and we deeply appreciate the Bartlett family’s long-standing stewardship of these properties and their commitment to preserving this land,” said David Grigsby, GLCT president. “Now nearly all of the mountain where Bluff Head is located will be permanently protected and open to passive recreation.”
“Bluff Head is one of Guilford’s iconic natural treasures, and we are very pleased to have been able to have reached this agreement with one of Guilford’s foundational families.” Grigsby added.
The 500-foot cliff of Bluff Head and Totoket Mountain are part of a series of traprock ridges throughout the state. It is a remnant of molten rock – basalt – arising from under the earth through faults in the earth’s surface some 200 million years ago. The fault line that led to the formation of Bluff Head runs under Route 77 from the north end of Lake Quonnipaug to the parking lot at Bluff Head, then to Meyerhuber Pond. Vistas from Bluff Head reach north to Hartford and south to Long Island. Trail maps for the area, known as Northwoods, are available at Bishop’s Farm Market, town hall, and Breakwater Books. More information is available at www.guilfordlandtrust.org.
The land trust and the Bartlett family expect to close the transactions in by the end of summer.
