As author, planner and conservationist William H. Whyte said in a 1962 report to then Connecticut Governor Dempsey, “Saving the ridges would be an act of imagination, but what is at stake is close to Connecticut’s identity, and once gone is without price.”
The Granby Land Trust is delighted to announce that it has received two remarkably generous, contiguous gifts of land that will protect, forever, the Crag Mountain ridgeline and lookout in North Granby from development.
In December, longtime Granby residents Dave and Jenny Emery donated a 29-acre parcel of land that abuts both the GLT’s 151-acre Seth and Lucy Holcombe Preserve and the 33-acre Ann Pelka Silver Street Preserve.
In March, in keeping with their longtime desire to see the land preserved and further motivated by the Emerys’ gift and an understanding of the impact they could make by gifting their abutting land, Granby resident William Hart Jr. and his sister Sarah Koeniger donated a 44-acre parcel of land that runs from the Emery Family Preserve to Rte. 189 and down to the Heminway Family Preserve.
Together, these acquisitions add 73 acres of critical open space to an area in which the GLT already manages the protection of almost 500 acres of land, including the Dismal Brook Wildlife Preserve and the Seth and Lucy Holcombe Preserve.
“We are humbled by the generosity of these two families,” says GLT President Rick Orluk. “The Emerys and the Harts understood the value of this land, and they prioritized conservation over other options. They could see that these properties were critical to the Granby Land Trust’s efforts to protect connected habitats; and that by giving them to the GLT, they could protect, forever, the Crag Mountain ridgeline—and its lookout. We could not be more grateful.”
The Granby Land Trust has worked for decades to protect property in the Crag Mountain and Loomis/Silver Street corridor (Crag Mountain was, in fact, identified as a “Primary Conservation Area” in the Farmington River Biodiversity Study in 2006); and these two remarkable gifts are completely in-line with the Land Trust’s mission and goals.
The primary conservation value of these properties is the protection of the ridgeline, as control of ridgeline development can moderate erosion and sedimentation, protect our watersheds (the ridge sits between the Dismal Brook and the East Branch of the Salmon Brook) and protect wildlife, including endangered species. Also, because ridgelines are visible from a distance, their protection ensures views free of manmade structures.
These are not the properties’ only conservation values, however. They both provide quality habitat for forest birds, amphibians, reptiles and other wildlife. They contain dense forests, creating an expansive wildlife corridor. Corridors like this one are used by mammals and other wildlife to travel between larger preserves and help reverse the problems associated with habitat fragmentation. In addition, according to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Hart property includes state and federal-listed species, per the Natural Diversity Database (December 2024). Looking at the block of permanently protected land on a map really drives home just how important these gifts are (see map on p. 1).
The Emerys have been loyal and supportive friends of the GLT since they moved to Granby more than 40 years ago. Dave serves as the vice president of the GLT and Jenny is the president of the Friends of Holcomb Farm, and both Dave and Jenny serve as GLT property stewards. In 2010, Dave and Jenny, along with their friend Jamie Gamble, donated a conservation easement on a 21.3-acre piece of land they co-owned on Loomis Street.
“The Emery family is thrilled that their gift to the GLT is bookended by gifts from the Hart and Holcombe families,” says Dave Emery. “We are firm believers in the value of open spaces, as they provide critical habitat for plant and animal communities as well as a respite for people from their hectic lives.”
The properties will be named the Emery Family Preserve and the Hart Family Preserve, and the GLT will work to honor these families’ legacies. In time, in keeping with the vision of the Hart and Emery families’ desire to see that all citizens can enjoy this incredible place, the Land Trust will add a trail (not yet open) onto these properties from the GLT’s Seth and Lucy Holcombe Preserve. Once complete, this trail will feature a spectacular panoramic view from the Crag Mountain Lookout. Visitors, of course, must stay on the trails in order to maintain undisturbed natural habitat and protect native wildlife on the remainder of the property.
Will Hart and his sister Sarah Koeniger are the children of the late Bill Hart, who lived in Granby; and are descendants of the Godard family—one of the first families to settle in Granby (then Salmon Brook). Members of the Godard family also donated the property that forms the GLT’s 118-acre Godard Preserve on Donahue Road.
Hart, speaking for he and Sarah, said, “This gift was quite a milestone for us. For several years, our long-term wish was to see this property donated to the Land Trust. The prior conservation gifts in the Loomis/Silver Street Corridor were catalytic and made it obvious how important the Hart property was to the preservation and protection of the south end of this ridgeline corridor.”
The Granby Land Trust now oversees the permanent protection of 3,367 acres of land—2,297 owned acres and 1,079 acres under easement. To learn more about the Granby Land Trust or become a member and help us acquire and steward properties like these, visit GranbyLandTrust.org