The Avian Preserve measures approximately 58 acres, situated in the northeast corner of the Town of Kent between the Housatonic River to the west and Flanders Mountain to the east. Most of the property was once farmland, some of which has reverted to second growth forest. The Kent Land Trust manages several former fields to maintain early successional wildlife habitat, funded with the help of Wildlife Incentives Program (WHIP) grants from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

 

Robert Avian donated the Avian Preserve property to the Kent Land Trust in December 1999. Until 1994, the land had belonged to The Stanley Works, which once owned more than 1,000 acres in Kent and Cornwall along the Housatonic River, including the present Housatonic River Wildlife Management Area to the south and part of the present Appalachian Trail to the west. In 1985, the National Park Service purchased a protective conservation easement covering much of The Stanley Works’ property, including 40 acres that now belong to the Avian preserve.

 

The Avian Preserve is bounded to the west by the Housatonic River, with USA National Park Service land beyond; to the east by Route 7 and one private parcel; to the south by the 480-acre DEEP Housatonic Wildlife Management Area; and to the north by private property. The property is bisected by the Housatonic Railroad which is used only by occasional freight trains.

 

Consistent with the stipulations of the National Park Service conservation easement and with the policies of the Kent Land Trust, uses of the Avian Preserve are limited to noncommercial, passive recreational activities. Regulated hunting is allowed by permission of the Kent Land Trust. For more information about the property, including permitted activities, please contact the Kent Land Trust at (860) 488-9185 or info@kentlandtrust.org.