Grant Boosts

Open Space Efforts

By Kendra Bobowick

It is not too soon to think of spring sunshine squeezing through a tree cover and tossing shards of bright light onto the shadier forest floor; trillium and ladies slippers bow close to the ground. Land Use Deputy Director Rob Sibley already has warmer weather in mind for putting to use $15,000 of grant funds from Iroquois Gas Transmission System, which he will apply to Newtown’s open space.

He told Conservation Commission members Tuesday, “I’ve got good news.” He received a letter signed by Iroquois’ Public Affairs Manager Ruth Parkins saying, “I am pleased to inform you that the Town of Newtown’s Open Space public access and informational signage project … has been approved.” The town will receive a community grant of $15,000.

He said Wednesday, “So often we’re saying, ‘How are we going to do this?’ and [Iroquois] stepped in.” Impressed, he noted that with the current tight economy, many companies are “contracting on philanthropy” but Iroquois has shown its generosity.

Mr Sibley expects to complete work associated with the project during 2009, starting with the mapping index and toward the warmer months he hopes local groups and volunteers will help mark signs for trails and open space use, build split-rail fences for parking, place marker posts along boundaries, and other small jobs, he said. His hopes for the project overall? “People can start to recognize open space so it is not misused.” He intends to establish a “fluid and complete system so everybody knows and recognizes, ‘Oh, it’s Newtown open space,’” he said.

The grant funds are the first step in that direction. Of the more than 1,500 acres of open space properties in town — some newer acquisitions — not all the areas are mapped and marked. “We’re trying to catch up,” he said. Aside from signs at the entrance, for example, which post rules and hours, the town also must tend its sites. “Invasive [species] and trails need to be physically maintained,” Mr Sibley said.

Outlined in his grant application are the many reasons that Mr Sibley sees a need for the grant funds. He included in his application a Statement of Need and Impact, which specifies: “Newtown has progressed to embrace the needs of its open space system throughout its total land area of 60 square miles. The Conservation Commission has begun creation of a care and custody of owned open space. The commission has worked to create proper mapping  and surveying of Newtown’s open space system.”

His statement later explains the town’s Plan of Conservation and Development, which states “aggressive goals in establishing a comprehensive trail system.” Another issue involves the plan’s “Greenways and Passive Recreations,” and recommends the “pursuit and development of trails relating to walking, running, hiking, bicycling, horseback riding, cross country skiing, snow shoeing, bird watching, and wildlife viewing.”

To summarize, he wrote: “The proposed project would help meet those needs.”  Project costs include surveying, entrance signage, use signage, and hardware. His summary states: “This project will further the Open Space program for  the Town of Newtown … the [$15,000] would help create inclusion of public participation, further the public appreciation of natural resources and help define the existing open space.” To conclude, Mr Sibley wrote that he hoped “the town can provide mechanisms to allow for fuller public enjoyment of its open space resources.”