Many of GLT's preserves have freshwater features such as ponds, rivers, and streams. Land adjacent to these waterways are called buffer zones.  Permanently protected vegetated buffers help filter out toxins such as lawn fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals, that may work their way into our drinking water supply.  Plants and grasses in a buffer zone can provide bank stabilization through extensive root systems.  Vegetated buffers also provide food, shade, and shelter to a variety of native animals. 

Our stewardship team inspects and maintains natural vegetated buffer zones along streams and ponds.  These buffers are a low-cost and proactive measure to further protect inland wetlands and our shared drinking water supply.

Close Up: Lovelace Aquatic Sanctuary
Richard and Caroline Lovelace gave the 2.45-acre Lovelace Aquatic Sanctuary to the Land Trust in 1972. This gift assured the preservation of two ponds and interesting rock formations and trees. It is a haven for waterfowl as well as other species commonly found in the fields and woodlands of Cos Cob, including wild turkeys, skunk, fox, deer, and possum.
 

Close Up: Packard Conservation Easement
GLT's 4-acre Packard Conservation Easement protects, among other things, a healthy vernal pool.  A vernal pool is an isolated wetland that seasonally retains water.  These small areas do not have an outlet for the water from snowmelt and rainfall that fills them each spring.  For several months, vernal pools are active breeding grounds for a variety of amphibians and typically dry up by mid to late summer.   Since vernal pools do not have fish, a major predator of amphibian larvae, almost half of the amphibians in the U.S. breed in vernal pools. At the Packard Easement, GLT's stewardship staff have viewed spotted salamanders and wood frogs, both species that only breed in vernal pools.