Land Trust to Host New England National Scenic Trail

The dedicated effort of the Guilford Land Conservation Trust over its 44-year history to preserve 2,800 acres of open space in Guilford was a key factor in the successful campaign to establish the New England National Scenic Trail. President Barack Obama signed the legislation in March designating the trail, which will run from the summit of Mount Monadnock in southern New Hampshire to the Long Island Sound in Guilford.

The Land Trust’s open space in Guilford helps make it feasible to extend the trail all the way through Guilford to the Sound, which was an essential goal of the proponents of the National Scenic Trail.

“The Land Trust has worked for a number of years with representatives of the National Park Service and other groups on a plan for bringing the trail through Guilford to the Sound,” said President Stephen Besse. “We’re pleased that our successful land conservation efforts over the decades were instrumental in making Guilford a host of a National Scenic Trail.”

Under this new National Scenic Trail designation, the National Park Service is now authorized to provide funding and technical assistance to help maintain and protect the Trail.

The New England National Scenic Trail will travel on Land Trust property, including along the existing blue-blazed Mattabesett Trail in the Broomstick Ledges of North Guilford, and through the Land Trust’s Nut Plains Woods and Eastwoods preserves. The East River Preserve, which would be created if the town of Guilford purchases the Goss family property (the voters this year authorized funding for the purchase), would also host the trail. Plans for the trail call for it to reach the Sound in Chittenden Park.