A $44,080 grant awarded to Newtown Bridle Lands Association (NBLA) in April 2024 to fund projects on Newtown Forest Association (NFA) properties is coming to fruition. Work is just about complete at two sites in Newtown. The NBLA applied for the grant in 2023 under DEEP’s Recreational Trails Grant Program for the purpose of improving multi-use access to existing Newtown trails. Under the grant program, DEEP reimburses up to 80 percent of the cost of approved projects.

The grant funds two projects, both of which are on Newtown Forest Association properties. The first is the construction of a culvert type bridge near the Palestine Road parking area at the Cherry Grove Farm Preserve. There is an existing trail to the right (south) of the parking area that crosses a stream and leads to the large meadow behind the Cherry Grove farmhouse. However, the trail has become impassable due to a wide boggy area around the stream and the growth of invasive species. Visitors currently have to backtrack and walk to the northeast to cross a pedestrian bridge that brings them southwest and back to the meadow.

The grant has funded the construction of a bridge located near the existing trail. The bridge is constructed of two culverts surrounded by natural stones and topped with soil and eventually grass creating a very naturalistic crossover. As a matter of fact, the very first user of the bridge just hours after completion was a small deer. By improving the water crossing, potential damage to the boggy area will be prevented, and a new hiking loop will be created. In addition, part of the project was to remove invasives in the area while preserving some unique and quite old red cedar trees. The bridge is sturdy enough for horseback riders and can also be used by hikers, dog walkers, and birders. The crossover will allow access to a beautiful walking loop around the meadow directly from the parking area.

The second project is the construction of an unpaved parking loop on Boggs Hill Road that will give access to NFA’s Fosdick Preserve. This beautiful wooded 66-acre property currently has no safe off-road parking. The parking area will provide a spot for four or five cars or two horse trailers, with direct access to the trails of the Preserve. This is a very advantageous location because visitors can not only hike in Fosdick but also, by crossing Boggs Hill Road south of Willow Brook Lane, can continue on a well-established trail through NFA and town property and several easements, ending up at the north end of Cherry Grove Farm Preserve. Hikers can also walk north from the parking area to a trail behind Head O’Meadow school and explore another large NFA parcel at 76 Boggs Hill Road. Included in this project was the rebuilding of an existing stone wall by the road and clearing a new trail leading from the parking area to the Yellow Trail.

While NBLA is primarily a group that supports and educates horseback riders, a very important component of its mission is to preserve open space and improve access for all passive recreation users. NFA and NBLA are like-minded in this regard and this collaboration is an example of how organizations can work together for the benefit of the people of Newtown. Executive Director of NFA Trent McCann commented that they value strategic partnerships in furthering their conservation goals throughout Newtown.

A public Zoom meeting will be held on Thursday, October 3 at 6 pm to describe the improvements in more detail and to answer any questions the public may have about these two projects. The Zoom invite is available on the NBLA website (nblact.org) and the Newtown Forest Association website (newtownforestassociation.org).

Tracy Van Buskirk is a 39 year resident of Newtown and president of Newtown Bridle Lands Association, at nblact.org, a nonprofit volunteer organization formed in 1978 to foster an interest in horseback riding as well as preserving, protecting, and maintaining riding and hiking trails in the community. Horses have always been a part of her life. She owns a small bay quarter horse named Little Bear.