This week on 0684-Radi0, our free weekly podcast (subscribe here in the iTunes Store), we talk to Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section, about what residents should expect from local wildlife, now that spring has arrived in earnest. This installment of 0684-Radi0 is sponsored by the New Canaan Land Trust, a nationally accredited land trust working to protect and steward open space in our community. Join the New Canaan Land Trust at its upcoming Arbor Day Celebration at the Silvermine-Fowler Preserve, from 1 to p.m. on Sunday, April 28, for a native plant workshop, guided walk, and family-friendly scavenger hunt. Here are some recent past episodes of 0684-Radi0:
Join the New Canaan Canaan Land Trust and Wildlife in Crisis as we celebrate Earth Day with a guided walk and wildlife release. This family-friendly event is free and open to the public. At 5pm, we’ll hit the trail for a short guided walk, led by NCLT Director, Aaron Lefland. Aaron will teach participants how to read the forested landscape, using clues (both natural and man-made) to identify changes and disturbances that have impacted our landscape. Following the guided walk, we will be joined by Wildlife in Crisis, who will release a rehabilitated Peregrine Falcon.
If New Canaan ends up selling an undeveloped 6.25-acre parcel adjacent to the Talmadge Hill Train Station, those funds should go into a standing fund for acquiring open space, Selectman Kit Devereaux said Tuesday. Referring to a proposal made public last week by New Canaan’s highest elected official, Devereaux noted during a regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen that the town just approved $50,000 for its recently formed Land Acquisition Fund. “Given that we have added money to the open space fund, I think it would be appropriate that that money go toward open space,” she said during the meeting, held on Town Hall. First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said he’d “have no problem with that, if that is what people want to do.”
“But I do think we need to be prepared for strategic possibilities—open space adjacent to parks,” he said, adding that New Canaan must be ready to acquire such properties. “I want to build up a fund like Westport has, they have $3 million in their fund, when something comes opportunistically—land is very opportunistic— when it comes up, you need to be able to jump,” he said.
Join us on Saturday, February 9th from 8am to noon as we work with local stonemason, Greg Faillaci, to rebuild the historic stone wall in front of the Hicks Meadow. Participants will learn the art of dry stone wall construction while helping to restore collapsed sections of the wall, located across from 514 Silvermine Road. We have limited space, and the workshop is weather dependent, so please RSVP to info@newcanaanlandtrust.org to confirm your spot.
Reigniting an effort that dates back to this spring, New Canaan’s highest elected official said this week that the town is seeking to acquire a vacant antique home on Valley Road by eminent domain. The town, with a funding commitment from a local nonprofit organization, had offered to acquire the four-acre parcel at 1124 Valley Road, including a prominent red-painted house, for $1.2 million. But the property’s owner, Norwalk’s First Taxing District, rejected that offer. After applying for a demolition permit and then withdrawing it, the Taxing District later rejected the town’s offer to purchase just the house with .8 acres carved out around it, for $250,000—a figure New Canaan had arrived at following an appraisal of the property. Now, First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said, “We intend to proceed with our plan to acquire the property by our power of eminent domain.”
“They don’t need the property for water company purposes, they disrespect the house which is over 200 years old and various groups—the Historical Society, the Preservation Alliance—various town bodies want to see that house preserved and that neighborhood preserved,” Moynihan told members of local press during a media briefing Wednesday in his office at Town Hall.
