GRAHAM BRUSH PRESERVE

Unlike the lakeside conservation easements that also bear his name, the Graham Brush Preserve was not donated by this founding member of the Warren Land Trust. Rather, the Preserve was named in his honor when the WLT purchased the land in 2002. Shortly after the acquisition, WLT President Dorothy Maier contacted Kay Brush, Graham's widow, and suggested that the Warren Land Trust honor Graham for his contributions "of time, ideas, money and easements," all of which created the foundation on which the Warren Land Trust is built.

Public access to this beautiful 40-acre parcel which includes one of the highest points in the state and is mostly heavy hardwood forest intercut with white pine, is primarily via the CT Blue Blazed Mattatuck Trail. Trailheads for this portion of the Mattatuck Trail are located on Valley Road and Hardscrabble Road in Warren. In 2022, WLT cut a new trail from the Mattatuck trail west through the Preserve and through the adjacent State Wyantenock Forest to connect to its Coords Preserve and an old town road. The connector trail provides a challenging and varied 5 mile hiking loop.

The acquisition was generously funded in part by the State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Open Space & Watershed Acquisition Grant Program (“OSWA”). The State of Connecticut hold a conservation easement on the parcel as part of the grant acquisition, ensuring that the land is protected in perpetuity. The acquisition marked the first time the Warren Land Trust had successfully obtained grant funding from the state to achieve its conservation goals.