Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced a new round of grant funding is available to assist municipalities and land conservation groups purchase open space lands through the Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition program. The funds come from Community Investment Act funds.
According to DEEP, open space conservation efforts are helping Connecticut meet its open space goal of preserving 21% of Connecticut’s land – or 673,210 acres – by the year 2023. DEEP and its partners have preserved nearly 500,000 acres already, which is almost 74% of the goal. Since the Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition program began in 1998, DEEP has provided more than $109 million in grants to assist with the purchase of approximately 27,440 acres of open space in 128 municipalities.
