• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Housatonic Valley Association

Clean water for life!

  • Register for Explore-a-thon!
  • About HVA
    • Our Mission
    • HVA News & Events
    • Our Team
    • Our Board
    • Our Partners & Sponsors
    • HVA History & Accomplishments
    • Publications
    • Legal & Financials
    • Careers & Internships
    • Volunteer
    • Contact us
  • Our Watershed
    • Watershed Facts & Statistics
    • Explore the Region!
    • Wildlife of the Housatonic Valley
    • Geology of the Housatonic Valley
    • Human History of the River
    • Major Tributaries of the Housatonic
  • Threats
    • Habitat Disruption and Destruction
    • Polluted Stormwater Runoff
    • A Changing Climate
    • Invasive Species
  • Solutions
  • Thanks!
  • DONATE NOW
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Our Initiative: Follow the Forest


The Follow the Forest Initiative strives to protect and connect forest habitat throughout the Northeast

The Housatonic watershed is the keystone of a vast wildlife corridor, bounded by the Hudson River on the West, the Connecticut River on the East, and Long Island Sound to the South. In 2016, HVA created the Follow the Forest Initiative in close collaboration with partners in the Litchfield Hills Greenprint Collaborative. Our vision of a connected landscape extends far beyond the Housatonic watershed and encompasses lands stretching from the Hudson River to the forests of Canada.

Follow the Forest Interactive Map

Follow the Forest Story Map

 

A large, continental vision translated to a local scale…

Conserving land is a highly-local activity. Every town, every landowner, every parcel has its own unique characteristics, advantages and challenges. Local land trusts, conservation organizations, and even local government boards and commissions are crucial.

HVA uses the most current data available to target the most sensitive and threatened lands and build local coalitions to preserve them. Follow the Forest focuses on forest cores of 250+ contiguous acres and their linkages. This threshold for forest patches is a scientifically recognized minimum needed to sustain important woodland species.

Little by little we have already conserved thousands of acres and set our sights on many more.

Our long term goal? To permanently protect 50,000 acres of connected forest habitat with secure passage for wildlife in the Housatonic watershed by 2035. That means protecting ~5,000 acres per year. As of 2021, we are on track to achieving this goal.

Get Involved. Follow the Forest With Us Today.

To learn more visit FollowTheForest.org

Primary Sidebar

Join our mailing list!

Get updates on what we've been up to, fun events, volunteer opportunities, and more, straight to your inbox.
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

 

See all of our partners

Copyright © 2022 · Housatonic Valley Association, Inc. :: Privacy Policy


CONNECTICUT OFFICE
P.O. Box 28
150 Kent Road
Cornwall Bridge, CT 06754
T: (860) 672-6678
F: (860) 672-0162

MASSACHUSETTS OFFICE
P.O. Box 496
14 Main Street
Stockbridge, MA 01262
T: (413) 298-7024

NEW YORK OFFICE
P.O. Box 315
37 Furnace Bank Road
Wassaic, NY 12592
T: (845) 442-1039