Look Who's Hanging Out On The MLCT Papermill Trail

Photographer Donna Johnson Buckley recently discovered the many wonderful trails developed and maintained by the Madison Land Conservation Trust [MLCT]. 

She was hiking along the Papermill Trail, near the Hammonasset River, and she said this magnificent bird, a mature bald eagle, a state threatened species. Here is some information about the bald eagle from the CT Department of Energy & Environmental Protection: 

"The bald eagle is best known as the national emblem of the United States of America. It was chosen for this honor in 1782 by the Second Continental Congress because the species is unique to North America. However, the bald eagle went from being common in the early 1700s to extremely rare in the lower 48 states by the 1960s. This precipitous decline was due to loss of habitat and nesting trees, food contamination by pesticides, and illegal shooting. Contamination of food by the organochlorine pesticide DDT is widely accepted as a major reason why populations of eagles, along with many other raptor species, declined in the mid-20th century. DDT accumulated in the food chain and, when contaminated food was ingested by eagles, it caused them to lay eggs with weakened shells that cracked when the birds incubated their eggs. Eagle populations across the country were decimated. General use of DDT was banned in the United States in 1972. 
The bald eagle was first declared an endangered species with the passage of the federal Endangered Species Act in 1973. Populations eventually began to recover due to the ban on DDT use, successful reintroduction programs of fostered chicks and fledglings, and habitat and nest protection measures. In 1995, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reclassified the bald eagle from endangered to threatened in the lower 48 states. Populations continued to recover enough that, in 2007, the bald eagle was officially removed from the federal Endangered Species List. However, bald eagles are still protected on the federal level by the Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1940 and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918."

Donna says she recently discovered all of MLCT trails and is enjoying her hikes on them. 

Here is a list of all of the MLCT trails: 

Trail Maps

• Bailey Trail North
• Bailey Trail South
• Blinnshed Loop
• Blinnshed Ridge
• Camp Hadley
• Double Loop
• Indian Rock Shelters
• Indigo Woods
• Ironwoods Preserve
• Jefferson Park
• Lost Pond
• Mica Ledges
• Neck River
• Neck River Uplands North
• Neck River Uplands South
• Oil Mill Brook
• Overbrook Trail
• Ox Pasture
• Papermill Trail
• Shepherds Trail
• St. Francis Woods

To find out more about the Madison Land Conservation Trust, and how to support them, either by volunteering or making a donation, please visit the Madison Land Conservation Trust website.