Land Swap Foes Planning Site Walk

Opponents of a state plan to transfer 17.4 acres in Tylerville to a private developer are inviting the public to a site walk of the property on Saturday, May 21.

The walk of the land, known as the Clark Creek Wildlife Preserve, will include a report by naturalists and botanists from the Connecticut Botanical Society. The experts were called in by Citizens for Protection of Public Land to help counter assertions by some who support the swap that the land has numerous invasive species and does not represent a sensitive conservation area.

The walk begins at 11 a.m. at the site, located off Bridge Road near the Riverhouse at Goodspeed Station. The walk will also include a tour of the abutting Eagle Landing State Park. “Come spend time enjoying your land overlooking the CT River in Haddam, bring a picnic lunch,” an online invitation on the opponents’ website states. “Public land is a gift for you and your family, join us to learn how you can help keep it public.”

The proposal to swap the land for 87 acres that abut the Cockaponset State Forest in Higganum is currently pending in the state Senate.