Cooper, Whitney & Francois

01/14/2026

An amazing tenacious collaboration protected this historic working farm - two land trusts, four federal and state funding entities and Yale University,

https://litchfield.bz/2026/01/07/our-towns-land-trust-acquires-tanner-farm/

By John McKenna: BZ editor and publisher

WARREN – The long-awaited acquisition of the historic Tanner Farm on Route 341 by the Warren Land Trust has been completed and will ensure the permanent preservation of the farm’s 198 acres of fields and woodlands as well as its barns and outbuildings, which will remain in use for farming activities.

07/18/2025

Its going to be another great busy year for Connecticut land conservation!

Press Release Homepage Governor Lamont Announces State Grants To Protect 2,270 Acres of Open Space and Create Six New Community Green Spaces 7/15/2025 (HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that his administration is awarding $14.3 million in state funding to aid in the purchase and ...

03/28/2024

Peter Cooper is the first recipient of the CT Land Conservation Council's Excellence in Conservation Law Award and it will carry his name.

2024 Excellence in Conservation Awards We are proud to celebrate and feature our winners for our annual Excellence in Conservation Awards. In making these awards, CLCC seeks to recognize organizations…

10/17/2023

A great project many years and many people (including our firm) in the making...

Thanks to you, Steep Rock closed on the acquisitions of four forested properties that expand Hidden Valley by 25%--a plan that’s been 17 years in the making!

07/25/2023

Open space in CT and MA to be permanently protected if abandonment permit  COLEBROOK, CT—A groundbreaking win for open space protection in Northwest Connecticut is being celebrated by the Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy (NCLC) and Save the Sound, who have reached a Memorandum of Understand...

07/25/2023

Something really exciting that we helped Northwest CT Land Conservancy achieve:

Open space in CT and MA to be permanently protected if abandonment permit  COLEBROOK, CT—A groundbreaking win for open space protection in Northwest Connecticut is being celebrated by the Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy (NCLC) and Save the Sound, who have reached a Memorandum of Understand...

07/10/2023

Great article about the value and challenges of our land trusts.

While the state struggles to meet its open-space conservation goal, land trusts are...

04/24/2023

04/17/2023

Conservation organizations partnering to do more great things and mitigate climate change

The six protected preserves are Pope, Yoakum, Mitchell Shostak, Belter Lime Rock, Dark Hollow, and Railroad Ramble. These properties are mostly core forest in an area of high climate resiliency. They harbor a rich variety of wildlife and plants including many rare species.

04/05/2023

Linda Francois was a presenter on March 26th for the 2023 Connecticut Land Conservation Conference at Wesleyan University. The event, which had been an annual program organized by the Connecticut Land Conservation Council, was held in-person for the first time since 2020. Over 500 individuals representing local land trusts, conservation organizations, and municipal and state agencies attended and participated in some of the 30+ panel discussions.
Linda co-presented the seminar on “Anatomy of a Conservation Easement Using the Updated Connecticut Model Conservation Easement” with Catherine Rawson, Executive Director of Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy, Inc. Linda is editor of the Connecticut Model easements for CLCC. The goal of the seminar was to provide a working understanding and comfort level with the structure of conservation easements and the model document in particular.

Linda also co-presented a lively discussion at the Advanced Topics: Land Transactions Q&A seminar with Catherine Rawson, Keith Ainsworth, Esq., Kathleen Doherty of Connecticut Farmland Trust, Honor Lawler of The Trust for Public Land, Rich McDermott, Appraiser, of RP McDermott & Associates Inc. and Richard Roberts, Esq. of Halloran & Sage, LLP

01/13/2023

No one is more knowledgeable about Connecticut Farmland Preservation than Elisabeth Moore.

Prepare to get your CFT questions answered. Next week, Elisabeth's style for giving high energy online presentations means you'll be listening at the edge of your seat for a full 45 minutes, as her review of last year and vision of a positive future for farming comes into focus. Join for the public speaking craftmanship, stay for the questions and answers. There is no charge, but you need to register. Sign up at our website or at this link:

https://bit.ly/3AvdKuI