The Avalonia Land Conservancy, Inc. (ALC), a land trust and nonprofit, nonpolitical, and tax-exempt organization, will celebrate its 40th anniversary during the month of May.
Founded in 1968 as the Mashantucket Land Trust, Inc. and later changing its name to the Avalonia Land Conservancy, Inc. in 1995, ALC was first formed to accept and maintain lands in Groton, Ledyard, North Stonington, and Stonington with Griswold, Preston, and Voluntown added in 1972 and Sprague just recently in 2007. ALC and its members have worked for 40 years to help conserve the natural resources of southeastern Connecticut by acquiring and preserving natural areas.
Receiving its first land donation in 1969 in the form of the tip of Ram Point on Masons Island in Stonington, the land trust now manages more than 90 separate plots ranging in size from one-half acre to 142 acres, and totaling more than 2,000 acres—all preserved as perpetual open space. Many of the plots are open to the public and offer an array of outdoor activities including hiking, picnicking, bird watching, photography, nature study, and even swimming, kayaking, and canoeing.
Some of the local preserves managed by the ALC are the Preston Nature Preserve in Preston, Dodge Paddock in Stonington Borough, the Pine Swamp Wildlife Corridor in Ledyard, the Marjorie Stanton Middleton Collier Preserve in Mystic, the Avery Sheep Wash in Ledyard, the Marcia Woolworth Porter Preserve in Stonington, Deer Run in North Stonington, and Sandy Point Island in Long Island Sound off the coast of Stonington.
For more information, including maps, nature preserve locations, and donations, contact the Avalonia Land Conservancy, Inc. P.O. Box 49, Old Mystic, CT 06372, at 860-887-6786, or avalonialc@yahoo.com. Information is also available at www.avalonialandconservancy.org.