The John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation, a supporting organization of the Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation, has awarded $30,000 to the Housatonic Valley Association (HVA) and conservation partners to further the Follow the Forest initiative and its mission to protect one of the largest connected wildlife corridors in the eastern United States.
A vast network of forests, wetlands, and ridgelines where moose can roam, bobcats can travel and countless species can move safely between habitats, this corridor begins along the Hudson River and stretches north through Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Vermont. Protecting and reconnecting these habitats is essential not only for wildlife survival, but also for ensuring clean water, clean air, and climate change-resilient communities.
Over the next 12 months, funding from the John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation will allow HVA and partners to:
- Train community scientists to assess wildlife movement and viability at more than 60 key forest linkages across western Connecticut and Massachusetts;
- Coordinate conservation planning among local and regional partners to generate a robust pipeline of future land protection projects; and
- Develop a Connectivity Implementation Framework that guides partners in moving from data and mapping to on-the-ground action.
“We are deeply grateful to the John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation for its support of our Follow the Forest efforts,” says Tim Abbott, Executive Director of HVA. “This collaborative work is essential to ensuring that wildlife can move, adapt and thrive on our landscape, now and into the future.”
“Follow the Forest brings together more than 50 partners, from local and regional land trusts to national organizations, united by a shared conservation vision,” says Julia Rogers, HVA’s Conservation Director. “By combining cutting-edge science with community knowledge, we’re creating real momentum to respond to habitat fragmentation and the climate crisis. This is about protecting the landscapes that make our region special.”
“Follow the Forest gives us the tools to connect the dots, literally, between the places we’ve already protected, and the ones identified that still need our attention,” says Brian Hagenbuch, Executive Director of the Steep Rock Association, a community-based land trust in Washington, Connecticut. “Continued support for this work is a huge step that enables smaller organizations such as Steep Rock to collaborate on bigger landscape-scale preservation efforts that ensure wildlife can move safely and freely throughout our town and region.”
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The only conservation organization dedicated to the entire tri-state Housatonic River 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.
The Follow the Forest Initiative unites partners across four states to protect and connect a continuous forested wildlife corridor from the southern Hudson Valley to Canada. To learn more or to get involved as a community scientist, contact Julia Rogers at jrogers@hvatoday.org or explore the Follow the Forest story map at followtheforest.org.
The John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation was created for the purpose of protecting and improving the welfare of animals of all kinds with a focus on cats and dogs; the promotion of veterinary programs and the protection of wildlife including endangered species, flora and fauna.
