AVALONIA LAND CONSERVANCY ADDS 179 ACRES TO HOLDINGS

Avalonia Land Conservancy on Friday announced the addition of three properties in North Stonington and Ledyard totaling 179 acres.

With the three acquisitions, the conservancy now holds 92 properties totaling more than 3,500 acres, the organization said in a news release.

The largest parcel, a 94-acre property on Swantown Hill Road in North Stonington, was donated by Mimi and Brad Borden and will be called the Benedict Benson Preserve in honor of Mimi Borden’s grandfather, who purchased and loved the land and its wildlife, the conservancy said.

The property is home to cerulean warblers, a “species of highest concern in the United States because of its small total population size and significant declines throughout its range,” according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The property will be open to the public later this year for passive recreation, the conservancy said. Once signage and trails are completed, Avalonia will offer guided hikes there.

A second parcel in North Stonington, 79 acres next to Avalonia’s Bell Cedar Swamp, was been given to Avalonia by the Nature Conservancy. It will expand the swamp preserve to nearly 140 acres of rare and varied habitats. A ridge trail through the property starts on Boom Bridge Road, and winds through forests, rocky ridges and meadows to a glacial area bordering the swamp. The Atlantic white cedar trees found there are a globally rare species. The new portion of the preserve is called “Bell Cedar” and is open for passive recreation, the conservancy said. Guided hikes will be offered there this fall.

The third parcel is located in Ledyard on Shewville Road. The six-acre parcel, donated to Avalonia by William Forsberg, is called the Samuel Lamb and Forsberg Preserve and adjoins town-owned open space. It is bordered by Williams Brook and shrubby wetlands habitat. Because of its environmentally rich mix of ferns, native berry shrubs and wildflowers, the Connecticut listed blue-winged warbler can be found there, as well as Baltimore orioles and Eastern towhee, the conservancy said.

Avalonia preserves lands in North Stonington, Stonington, Preston, Griswold, Groton and Ledyard. For information, visit www.avalonialandconservancy. org.