Join the SLT for our 2024 Annual Membership Dinner!

Thursday, April 4, 2024

6:00 – 9:00 p.m. • The Riverview, Simsbury

It's membership renewal time!

Please join or renew your membership today.

The Walkbook

Simsbury Land Trust has over 25 miles of trails for you to hike and explore. Trails range from 1/4 mile to several miles, flat to hilly terrain. Click the link below and download your free copy today.

Dirty Boots Kids Club

The Dirty Boots Kids Club Trail Maps and Activity Guide is great for kids ages 3 - 10.  Trail maps, coloring, fun facts and more -- available free of charge. Click the link below to download your free copy today.

Thank you to our 2023 members!

The full listing of member names can be found by clicking the link below.

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Welcome!

Simsbury Land Trust is a non-profit conservation organization that protects the rich natural diversity of Simsbury through the ownership of land and conservation easements.

  • It is 750 Simsbury households that, year after year, support its operations through their annual membership donations.
  • It is the three dozen families who have chosen the SLT as the vehicle through which to permanently preserve their beloved land for the enjoyment of future generations.
  • It is the hundreds of families who have not had the land to donate but who have provided over $2.3 million over the past 20 years to help in the acquisition of specific tracts of land.
  • It is the dozens of volunteers who give of their time, skills and effort and who serve as trustees, committee members, stewards, teachers, speakers and guides.
  • It is local businesses and professionals who have donated countless products and services.
  • It is an executive director and a finance and membership director who have spent the last 20 years establishing a level of structure and professionalism without which the organization would not have succeeded.
  • Because of the Simsbury Land Trust, Rosedale Farms, Tulmeadow Farm and the George Hall Farm are now permanently protected farmland, the Western Ridge and much of the wetlands at its base are protected wildlife corridors, and bobolinks and woodcock are now nesting in the meadows east of the river.

We urge you to visit the trails we maintain on many of our properties and to watch for activities, events and publications that we sponsor. We know you will enjoy the chance to get outdoors, to learn more about the exceptional natural environment here in Simsbury and to meet other people who share your interests. Visit our website often to learn of these and other opportunities. As you get to know us, we hope you will want to become a member and to support the Simsbury Land Trust with an annual membership, an occasional acquisition or stewardship gift, or with a contribution of your time.

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Join us at the March 26 program at the library.Out, out, darned baaaad bush! Get ready for our March 26 seminar on invasive species like this super-villian - we will be discussing removal and replacement! ... See MoreSee Less

Join us at the March 26 program at the library.

Time for some ice cream! ... See MoreSee Less

Time for some ice cream!Image attachmentImage attachment+Image attachment

It’s not too late to sign up for our Annual Membership Dinner. We hope you can join us on April 4th at the Rivervew!

Learn More and Register:
simsburylandtrust.org/slt/slt-2024-annual-membership-dinner/
... See MoreSee Less

It’s not too late to sign up for our Annual Membership Dinner.  We hope you can join us on April 4th at the Rivervew!

Learn More and Register:
https://simsburylandtrust.org/slt/slt-2024-annual-membership-dinner/
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Saturday, June 3, 2023

The Tullers are offering a public walk to the woodlot with forester Jim Gillespie.

9 – 11 a.m. • Park at farm store entrance to trail. No pets please.

Report From the Tulmeadow Woodlot:

The most recent timber harvest is complete. We are working on the trails and they will be ready to open in a few days. We will let you know.

The harvest was planned and supervised by Jim Gillespie, the forester that we have been working with for the last 40 years. His harvest plan was reviewed and approved by the State Forester. It was consistent with the forestry management plan on file with the Forestry Division of DEEP that we are required to regularly update and keep on file with them. Carl Clavette of Burlington CT harvested the trees under Jim’s direction. Our instruction to Jim was, “Do what’s right for the continued health of the forest.”

There were approximately 20 acres of white oak that had been killed by the Gypsy Moths over the last few years that had to be removed. The stands of Pitch Pine were being attacked by the Southern Pine Beetle. The way to manage those insects is to harvest and remove those trees. The largest part of the harvest was the thinning of some of the White Pine stands. This meant the removal of mature, and over mature, white pine trees that were ready or past ready for harvest and needed to come out. This gives the remaining trees room to grow. The removal of those bigger trees lets the sunlight get down into the understory trees, “releasing” them to grow more rapidly because they are receiving more sunlight. Some other trees were removed to encourage the growth of more desirable species. This allows more sunlight to get to the tree species that we want to encourage.

It looks pretty disturbed right now, but you only need to look to the right (west) as you enter the woods from the trail on the side of the big field to see what the woods inside the trail loop (that leads back around towards Flamig Farm) looks like just eight years after a similar harvest. It’s a thriving young forest! A similar re-growth will happen in the areas just harvested.

This 73-acre stand of trees is managed like the other crops on our farm. Our family has been at this a while, 255 years so far, so we have a relatively long term perspective. The woods were preserved from development specifically to be managed as timber. Substantial funding came from the USDA Forest Legacy Program, with timber management being a requirement of that funding.

The area that was harvested is going to begin transforming from mature forest to developing young forest. To supplement the natural process, we have planted 1350 white pine seedlings in hopes that they will speed this transition. White Pine really grows well on this site. There are also many tree seedlings already starting to grow, and thousands more will germinate from seed from the mature trees previously and still there. Some of the areas harvested won’t be revisited for 50 years or more. Some areas that were thinned will be harvested again in another decade or two.

This harvest and the opening up of some areas will result in entirely different animal and bird species moving into this developing new habitat. Many of these are going to be ground dwelling. We want to encourage this with as little disturbance from our human and pet visitors. To that end we are limiting public access to only the trail easement that shows on the posted maps, starting at our greenhouses on the North end, along the road through our fields to the woods, continuing south to the Town property behind the Town Garage. In addition, the trail that goes around and back through Flamig Farm property back to our main trail is also open. No other trails are open for your use. You’re going to see a lot of signs seeing “NO PUBLIC ACCESS”. We need your cooperation. It is critical that if you bring a pet they are kept on leash at all times, you keep them on the roads , out of the fields, and on the woods trail. Always pick up their waste and take it home with you. You or your pets should never walk in or around our fields. People who do this damage our hay crops. Please stay out of Flamig Farm’s fenced in area and tent. Carry out your trash, don’t fill up their trash cans.

There is no public access from Camille Lane, or any abutting properties anywhere along our boundaries. This also includes off of Stratton Brook Road, the fields behind the Post Office, the West Simsbury Fire House, and the property to the North of Farms Village and Westledge Roads.

We are happy to see folks visiting our farm, but only on the approved walking trail, not everywhere else. Thank you.

Don Tuller

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A few words about Tulmeadow Farm Trail Use

We need your help! As you know, Tulmeadow is in the process of completing a timber harvest in the woodlot. The note below from Don Tuller provides complete details on the harvest. They hope to open over the next few days, but we need your cooperation to keep the trails open over the summer growing months.

Tulmeadow Farm is a working farm owned by the Tuller family.

Tulmeadow Farms is a private property and should be respected as such. Simsbury Land Trust has the development rights only to the Tulmeadow Farms as well as permission to use the marked trails. Any off-trail use of the Tulmeadow property is a TRESPASS. Access to the Tulmeadow trail is permitted only at the Farm Store entrance and the Town Forest entrance. Continued trespass by members of the public may result in the closure of these trails during the growing season.

Tulmeadow Farm Trail Use Rules

  • ONLY THE MARKED TRAILS ARE AVAILABLE FOR YOUR USE! ALL OTHER AREAS ARE PRIVATE PROPERTY
  • Pets allowed on leash only at all times and must remain on the marked trails.
  • PICK UP AFTER YOUR PET / CARRY OUT YOUR TRASH and pet waste.
  • There is no public access from Camille Lane, or any abutting properties including Stratton Brook Road, the fields behind the Post Office, the West Simsbury Fire House, and the property to the North of Farms Village and Westledge Roads.

Failure to comply with these rules will result in the closure of these trails. Please help keep these trails open by following the posted signs.

Simsbury Land Trust

Take a hike.

Simsbury Land Trust has a hike for every level with 14 trails for you to choose from – covering a variety of property types and levels of difficulty.

Join as a member.

Membership donations provide important funding for all of our activities, including trail and property maintenance, signage, educational materials, a small office, and more.

Challenge yourself.

Looking for something to do? Try the SLT 12-Hike Challenge and receive an SLT baseball cap!

Simsbury Land Trust Email Update Sign Up

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