Voters in East Lyme approved a $4.23 million bond act to acquire these 300 acres of rolling fields and mature maple-and-oak forests for water quality protection and as community open space. The former farm was once slated for an 18-hole golf course and later for a 600-unit residential development. But after the property fell into foreclosure, momentum for its conservation began to build. Not only was it adjacent to the town’s aquifer protection area, but also it was surrounded by more than 3,500 acres of existing open space. The Trust for Public Land–Connecticut worked with the landowner—the Connecticut-based Webster Bank—to present the town with an opportunity for conservation. East Lyme residents assumed owner- ship of their new natural area in December. The land will be open for hiking, cross-country skiing, birdwatching, and other low-impact recreation.