Saturday Open House––

Tour The Treasures Of The Pole Bridge Preserve

By Dottie Evans

What a difference a year makes!

A 21-acre, steeply sloped property off Pole Bridge Road that was once slated for residential development is now a nature preserve owned by the people of Newtown.

Thanks to quick action taken in April 2002 by the town’s Open Space Task Force in cooperation with the Aragones family, which owned the land, the town was able to purchase the Pole Bridge property with $200,000 of open space funding.

The town’s funds were matched by an Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Program and the result was that a pristine wildlife habitat and mature evergreen forest were not leveled to create six building lots.

In addition, the unspoiled beauty of the property as seen from the Rochambeau Bridge along Interstate 84 was preserved. A housing development in that location would only have cluttered what Tim Northrop of the Trust for Public Land called the town’s scenic “view-shed” or “gateway.”

Since the Pole Bridge purchase, Newtown’s hikers and nature lovers have gained access to a total of 115 acres of protected open space. This is because the 21-acre Aragones property was joined to three other parcels that had already been set aside.

In celebration of all that has been saved, a special Pole Bridge Preserve Open House and Dedication Day has been set for Saturday, May 31.

Task force members and area nature educators are putting the finishing touches on their plans and they hope to welcome many Newtown families who would like to explore the 115-acre preserve. The property is located one-half mile down Pole Bridge Road off Jeremiah Road in Sandy Hook. Watch for black arrows on white signs and park along the road.

There will be a bird walk at 10:30 am, a dedication ceremony at 11 am, a forestry walk at 11:30 am and a vernal pool walk led by Bent of the River Audubon Center Education Director Ellen Turner at 12:30 pm. Refreshments will also be provided. Rain date is Sunday, June 1.

Pole Bridge

 “Opened The Door”

Open Space Task Force Chairman Rob Sibley took a moment recently to reflect upon all that has happened during the past year concerning both the Pole Bridge acquisition and the town’s recent verbal commitment to setting aside land to offset rising taxes.

“It’s like a gift. And other groups like the Newtown Forest Association are also a part of what’s happening,” he said.

Speaking for himself, he feels that saving land and preserving habitat for native species is “a calling,” especially when “you realize that there is almost no natural environment that man has not already changed in some way by his presence.

“The importance of this purchase to the town can’t be overstated,” commented Mr Sibley as he sipped coffee during an interview held May 23 at the Sandy Hook Diner.

He had just finished walking the Pole Bridge trails (twice!) with Southbury Audubon Center Manager John Longstreth in preparation for Saturday’s open house, and he was somewhat euphoric about the experience.

“At first, the roar of traffic from I-84 is almost deafening. Then as you go up the slope and cross a stream, those sounds begin to melt away. You realize the forest is slowly accepting you as the sound of birds overtakes the sound of trucks.

“We all need to have this experience in our lives. Open space is the buffer, the link with nature that we must have for our quality of life,” Mr Sibley said.

“Pole Bridge is our flagship –– it shows the town what can be done. With 60 square miles, Newtown is the fourth largest town in Connecticut and we’ve got to take care of what we have. It’s an incredible responsibility, especially when you consider that the town is being developed at a furious rate.”

He is encouraged by the support he sees from town leaders who have recently posed a four-tiered approach to abating the skyrocketing tax rate that includes buying open space to slow the rate of development.

Given the magnitude of the task, Mr Sibley was asked what he thought about the recent loss of $200,000 from the open space account in the town’s proposed 2003–2004 budget and the accompanying promise by town leaders that in its place, a new Open Space Initiative would be pursued.

“It suddenly opened a whole new door,” he said.

Embracing The Open Space Initiative

“The idea to fund open space purchases through bonds in the amounts of $15 to 20 million, well, it’s the only way. It puts us in the driver’s seat for the next decade.

“I believe that their verbal commitment is a very positive one. People support this. The polling numbers speak volumes. Seventy to 80 percent of Newtown residents support purchasing open space.”

But even though the task force had been charged by the first selectman to target possible open space purchases, Mr Sibley was asked would it be able to act quickly enough –– now that there was no longer any money in the budget set aside for that purpose?

“It will be difficult but not impossible. It would help if the town had the GIS [Geographic Information System] in place. We need to compare listings with deeds. Everyone [on the task force] is a volunteer and we need to use criteria for targeting open space priorities. We must apply for grants, identify properties, and rank them. If we need to move fast, there is always the general fund,” he added.

Already, the task force has given the first selectman a list of properties that should be looked at if they come available, he said, and the criteria in place includes linkage of open space to other protected lands, protection of water quality, preservation of historical heritage or recreational values, ecological conservation, and purchase considerations.

“We’re flying high right now,” Mr Sibley said, and the support by town officials for the new open space initiative has “changed everything.”

In addition, he credited the town’s vigilant conservation and inlands-wetlands commissions, where all proposed land-use issues must be reviewed before approval.

“When I first moved into my Berkshire Road home in 1999, I was impressed. The process was public and open and it seemed like they did their job.”