For more info and Land Trusts please visit FindaLandTrust.org

The Redding Land Trust was incorporated in 1965 to preserve for the benefit of the general public the natural resources of the Town of Redding and to acquire, by gift or conservation easement, land or property to carry out this purpose. The Redding Land Trust also serves the additional purposes of partnering with the Town, the State and other land-saving organizations to purchase open space property, of working with the Redding Conservation Commission to maintain a system of walking trails through the Town, and of serving as an educator and advocate for conservation values in the community.

Fifty years ago a great idea was born. Faced with rapidly increasing residential development to Redding’s south and increased commercialism to the north, economist, writer and local resident Stuart Chase sounded an alarm: “Large holdings are rumored on the verge of development,” he wrote. “The moment of truth has arrived.” People listened and, encouraged by Sam Hill, the first Chairman of Redding’s Conservation Commission and a descendant of John Read, the Redding Land Trust was incorporated in 1965.

It was an idea whose time had come. Within a year of its founding the Trust received a gift of four acres of high woodland on Wayside Lane. Soon after a 51-acre gift was added to the group’s holdings. Other donations followed and today Redding Land Trust, headed by Mary Anne Guitar, one of the five original founders, boasts over 1700 acres of protected land…and counting.