Join us Saturday, October 24th, in The Preserve

Help celebrate Bat Week with a walk in our favorite forest!

10 AM - 12 PM, Old Saybrook's Ingham Hill Road parking lot: Arrive by 9:45

No dogs. No bikes.

email ThePreserveProtect@gmail.com or text 202-330-3253 for more information.

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We are people who care about The Preserve, for its beauty, quietness, clean air and respite from the intensity of the “real” world.

The thousand-acre Preserve is the largest and last remaining predominantly intact coastal forest between Boston and New York. It is extraordinary for its abundance of wetlands, vernal pools, and dozens of different kinds of animals and plants. Many are rare, threatened or species of special concern, as they are known scientifically, and are Natural Diversity Data Base (NDDB) documented and listed.

We feel strongly that The Preserve’s natural wonderland and biodiversity treasure should be respected and protected. But instead, it is slated to be logged, starting AS SOON AS THE FIRST OF NEXT YEAR.

We are asking Governor Lamont to designate

The Preserve

A NATURAL AREA PRESERVE, with no logging.

Intact, mIntact, mature forests provide exceptional benefits—storing carbon

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP MAKE THIS HAPPEN:

1. It’s an election year for the Governor and our State Senators – Let them to know how much you care about this issue.

2. Your calls, emails, Letters to the Editor in local media, and attendance at Preserve rallies and events will help enormously. We have requested a meeting with the Governor. We’ll keep you posted on progress, via Preserve Protection Alliance emails. Thanks for reaching out to us ThePreserveProtect@gmail.com

and providing your email address.

3. Email to ask for a lawn sign to post on your property or a neighbor's who has a more visible, higher-traffic spot. (They can only be posted on private property).

4. We have flyers we can email you to print and post anywhere that has a community board.

5. If you belong to a club or organization where we could give a one-hour presentation (includes time for questions) to help spread the word.

Vernal Pool

Indian Pipe

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Box Turtle

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We've brought together a force of 300+ people, in addition to 1300+ petition signers, who are working to persuade Governor Lamont and the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP)'s Acting Commissioner Emma Cimino to designate The Preserve a Natural Area Preserve.

DEEP "actively manages" the 32 other State Forests, meaning: logging.

But a Natural Area Preserve is dedicated to science, education, research - and responsible recreation. A place for genuine public enjoyment.

With all the research DEEP has already invested in The Preserve, wouldn't it make sense to keep it whole and LEARN FROM IT?

You can help spread the word: Reach out to neighbors and friends. Have them send us their email address so we can keep them updated.

We do not oppose forestry conducted with logging practices appropriate in dry-ground forests with few endangered plants and animal species. But in a carbon-rich wet-soil forest like the Preserve, forestry with heavy equipment can cause lasting damage.

It’s a plan for “Sustainable Forestry” in the wrong forest. The Preserve should be protected because:

The Preserve is a haven for threatened, rare and species of concern – animals and plants that live and thrive ONLY in undisturbed forests. We are proud to have habitat worthy of unique flora and fauna we see or hear, and want to continue to be able to, walking through a largely intact forest. But if it’s logged, will the next generation ever see spotted or box turtles? Dusky or marbled salamanders? Wood frogs? Wood thrushes? Heavy equipment crushes fragile subterranean fungal infrastructure, essential to forest health, and introduces invasive weeds.

“Stand 10“ is the first one set to be “harvested.” The heart of the Preserve, it connects the two largest Core Protected Areas, home to the greatest numbers of rare species of concern, both animals and plants.

The operational plan for Stand 10 (the first of 24 stands slated for logging) will be presented by DEEP at a public meeting to be held at the Town Hall in Old Saybrook on December 16th.

It is CRITICALLY IMPORTANT THAT YOU ATTEND!

Before then, DEEP plans to start "treating" invasive plant species. They haven’t yet announced whether they will use glyphosate (Round-Up) or Triclopyr, but both options have raised alarms for their effects on human health, water supply, vernal pool dwellers and forest mammals. And for adjacent neighbors who rely on well water that is drawn from the aquifers underlying The Preserve, there is no alternative public water supply in Old Saybrook.

The parking for DEEP’s trucks and heavy machinery will be in the lot at the top of Ingman Hill Road. Significant noise and disruption can be expected for these operations in the management plans for all 24 stands. Essex’s Preserve parking lot is also in consideration for use for logging operations.

Contact our leaders with the power to change the outcome: Our Governor, state senators, Old Saybrook's First Selectman. Urge them to protect The Preserve from heavy-machine logging and allow it to evolve from a mature to an old-growth forest, so it remains a wildlife habitat haven for walkers, hikers, families and animals. (Email links below)

MESSAGE POINTS for a phone call or email:

WHY THE PRESERVE SHOULD BE DESIGNATED a Natural Area Preserve: it’s one of Connecticut's largest remaining intact coastal forest ecosystems, supporting dozens of National Diversity Data Base (NDDB)-documented rare species, wetlands, vernal pools, headwaters to three rivers and wildlife habitat of statewide importance.
EXPERTS HAVE SURVEYED THE FOREST: Dr. Michael W. Klemens, who surveyed The Preserve for DEEP in 2003, ’04, 05, ‘22 and 2026, described it as an “unusually important intact coastal forest and an excellent candidate for Forest-Reserve protection” because of its high number of rare, threatened, and species of special concern. With its documented biological, scientific, educational and scenic value, The Preserve meets the standards and criteria established by CT’s statutes for designation as a Natural Area Preserve.
PUBLIC SUPPORT: More than 300 area residents (and 1300+ petition signers) have joined together as the Preserve Protection Alliance in opposition to DEEP’s plan, echoing the thousands who fought for 20 years to keep The Preserve undisturbed. We reject DEEP’s “Sustainable Management” plan, that would cause irreversible harm to The Preserve due to soil compaction by heavy equipment and forest fragmentation
AUTHORITY: The Governor already has legislative authority to designate The Preserve as a Natural Area Preserve.
Intact, mature forests provide exceptional benefits—storing carbon and water, supporting biodiversity, providing habitat and buffering climate impacts. In places like the Preserve, these benefits are maximized when disturbance is minimized.

The Preserve is fundamentally different than other state forests, with its 38 vernal pools, wetland landscape, its rich fungal soils, and documented presence of threatened animal, amphibian, reptile and bird species especially vulnerable to disturbance.

It’s an election year for the Governor and our State Senators – we need them to know how much we care about this issue. Your calls, emails, media and attendance at rallies and events we plan help enormously. We have requested a meeting with the Governor. We’ll keep you posted on progress with that, with Preserve Protection Alliance emails.

CONTACT INFO: