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The land trust accreditation program recognizes land conservation organizations that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever. The Housatonic Valley Association is pleased to announce it is applying for renewal of its accreditation, initially awarded in 2014. A public comment period is now open. The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, […]

In a huge bipartisan victory for the local environment, the U.S. Senate has passed the Natural Resources Management Act, which includes reauthorization of the landmark Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). The Act now moves on to the House of Representatives. LWCF uses fees imposed on offshore oil and gas drilling leases to fund environmental conservation. […]

HVA has joined with the Town of New Milford and other area conservation organizations to urge Connecticut DEEP to enforce stricter individual permitting for the Candlewood Solar project. “The negative impact on water quality, both during clearing and construction and subsequent to the installation of this massive industrial energy project on what is now a […]

$49k NYSDEC grant supports “Trees for Tribs” efforts in the Ten Mile River and Green River watersheds The Housatonic Valley Association (HVA) has been awarded a significant grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) that will allow the organization and its partners to plant thousands of native trees and shrubs along […]

From Robert Miller, Danbury News Times: There’s a 202-acre collection of lands on Coltsfoot Mountain in Cornwall which the town’s Conservation Trust wants to preserve. The state of Connecticut agrees. This fall, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection gave the trust a $404,300 grant toward the land’s purchase. But down in Washington, D.C., […]

The interactive trail map created by HVA for the Northwest Hills Council of Governments has won a CT American Planning Association Award! The Northwest Hills Council of Governments has received the “2018 Regional Planning Award” from the CT Chapter of the American Planning Association for the creation of their interactive regional trail map. COG Executive […]

HVA has replaced a crumbling culvert on Churchill Brook in Pittsfield with a new fish-friendly passage thanks to the support of the Massachusetts Environmental Trust, NRD Trustees, the City of Pittsfield and Berkshire Environmental Action Team. Poorly-designed road-stream crossings can fragment rivers, disrupting their flow, raising water temperatures and causing big flooding problems when they […]

HVA will develop a “learning zone” at trail site by Webatuck Creek. The Housatonic Valley Association (HVA) has been awarded a significant contract from the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association (HVRTA). These funds are part of a New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Environmental Protection Grant awarded to the HVRTA for […]

More than 100 students touch fish, meet bugs and build model watersheds while learning about river history, ecology and preservation DANBURY, Conn.. – September 26, 2017 – Third graders from Danbury’s Shelter Rock Elementary came by the busload on a warm and cloudy fall day to gather at the Still River Greenway, where they were […]

HVA and our Litchfield Hills Greenprint Collaborative recently wrapped up a contract with the Northwest Hills Council of Governments (NHCOG) to create an interactive trails map for the region. The featured trails include all the well-known destinations, but the highlights are the hidden gems of public land and land trust trails that have never been […]