The state paid has paid a Connecticut family $1.2 million for 155 waterfront acres in Clinton and Westbrook to be preserved as open space, authorities say.
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced Thursday the purchase of land along the Menunketesuck River and Chapman Hill Pond in the towns of Clinton and Westbrook.
The lucrative wildlife habitat was acquired from Harriet Sciongay and complements a previous 83-acre purchase of land by the town of Westbrook from Sciongay and her late husband, the agency said.
The latest acquisition includes 1.2 miles of shoreline on the Menunketesuck River and the west side of Chapman Hill Pond, resulting in 243 acres of protected open space on Chapman Hill Pond and 354 acres of the tidal section of the Menunketesuck River.
“It is a rare and significant accomplishment to acquire over one mile of waterfront property within Connecticut’s coastal area with a single purchase,” said DEEP Commissioner Daniel C. Esty.
DEEP said funding was through a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Long Island Sound Program.
The property is expected to be publicly accessible for limited outdoor recreational uses. DEEP said its staff will evaluate the property and make recommendations for its future public use.
