Credit: Julia Rogers
Participation will strengthen HVA’s work to conserve important forests across the Northeast.
The Housatonic Valley Association (HVA) has been named to the Salazar Center for North American Conservation’s Peregrine Accelerator for Conservation Impact 2025 cohort. This international program is designed to scale the impact of innovative, place-based strategies that address biodiversity loss, enhance ecological connectivity and strengthen community resilience. Through funding, mentorship and collaboration with organizations throughout the North Atlantic region of the U.S. and Canada, this six-month program will expand the reach and effectiveness of Follow the Forest—HVA’s initiative that brings together over 50 partners to protect and connect core forests across Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont.
This Accelerator fosters collaboration across borders, Indigenous territories, and ecological boundaries. HVA joins the 2025 cohort alongside seven additional organizations leading transformative conservation efforts in North America. HVA staff will participate in a retreat on Prince Edward Island in early June to kick off the program.
“Follow the Forest is about working across natural, political and organizational boundaries to protect the connections that sustain life,” says Tim Abbott, HVA’s Conservation Director. “The Peregrine Accelerator is an exciting opportunity to elevate this work and strengthen the partnerships that make it possible,” he says.
The Follow the Forest initiative focuses on protecting and connecting core forest acreage across eastern New York, western Connecticut, western Massachusetts and Vermont–an area vital for species movement, ecosystem health, and carbon storage, but threatened by increased development. Over the past five years, the initiative has engaged local and regional land trusts, national organizations and regional conservation partnerships in collaborative work that addresses habitat fragmentation and conserves forested areas to build a more connected, climate-resilient landscape.
Through the Accelerator, HVA and partners will receive tailored support with the goal of strengthening Follow the Forest’s community science tools, communication strategies and funding and governance models to ensure long-term success.
“This opportunity comes at a pivotal time for Follow the Forest,” says Julia Rogers, HVA’s Senior Land Protection Manager. “The Accelerator will catalyze our connectivity work across the region, inspiring collaborative efforts informed by community members and scientific data.”
To learn more about HVA’s conservation work in the Northeast, visit hvatoday.org. To learn more about the Follow the Forest initiative, visit followtheforest.org.
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About Housatonic Valley Association
The only conservation organization dedicated to the entire tri-state Housatonic Watershed, the Housatonic Valley Association acts to protect the natural character and environmental health of the region from the Berkshires to Long Island Sound. Learn more at hvatoday.org.
