Conn. DEP strangely silent on Haddam conservation land swap

The state agency charged with protecting and preserving that state’s environment has yet to issue an opinion on a land swap proposal that would turn over 17 acres of state-owned conservation land to private developers.

For conservationists, the outcome has far-reaching implications. It casts into doubt the whole concept of preserving ecologically-important land if there is no assurance that protections will last into perpetuity.

The state purchased the parcel, which sits on a bluff above the Connecticut River, for more than $2 million in 2003 for the purpose of preserving the ecologically sensitive tract. Now a group of developers would like to build a hotel-retail complex on the property.  They propose to give the state 87 acres of land they own a few miles away. They only paid $450,000 for it two years ago, as part of a failed housing development.

The developers have an ally in the legislature who has included the swap in a routine state property conveyance bill.

Now legislators are asking for guidance from the state Dept. of Environmental Protection, but so far none has been forthcoming. The legislature adjourns tomorrow, and many are saying if they don’t hear from the agency, the proposal will be tabled for another year.

An article in today’s Hartford Courant outlines some of the political infighting surrounding this proposal.