The Harris Center for Conservation has reached its fundraising goal to conserve nearly 50 acres abutting Silver Lake.
The Harris Center has been working with the Silver Lake Land Trust and Seaver Silver Lake Farm Trust for nearly a year to conserve the largest remaining undeveloped property on the lake.
Harris Center Executive Director Jeremy Wilson confirmed Wednesday that the fundraising for the project had been completed, and the Harris Center was ready to officially purchase the conservation easement on the property on Dec. 28.
The price of the conservation easement on the property was $1 million, Wilson said, because of the value of the shoreline around Silver Lake. The conservation easement includes 50 acres and nearly 800 feet of shoreline of the southern end of the lake in Harrisville.
The Harris Center is also closing in on its fundraising goal for the preservation of the headwater that deposits into Granite Lake in Stoddard.
The Harris Center is about $20,000 short of its $600,000 fundraising goal, which it hopes to reach before February, Wilson said.
The 515-acre parcel contains two headwater streams that flow under Route 9, into Nye Meadow, and on to Granite Lake.
The land that the Harris Center is hoping to conserve underwent extensive timber operations in 2013, which caused silt and sediment washed into Granite Lake, raising concerns about water quality.
The property the Harris Center is raising funds to conserve connects with a corridor of 2,278 acres of other conserved properties. Conserving this piece will increase the amount of conserved land in the watershed to 30 percent.
“It’s high elevation land, and it’s a great piece to that puzzle,” Wilson said. “Particularly for animals with large home ranges that need lots of space to forage den, like otter, bear, fisher cats and bobcats, which are all creatures that require a lot of space.”
Wilson said Silver Lake and Granite Lake are examples of “very deep, very clear lakes in our region,” which are only matched by Nubanusit and Dublin Lakes.
“They’re very important resources,” he said.
The Harris Center is accepting donations to complete the protection of the Granite Lake headwaters. For more information about donating, contact the Harris Center.