Shafran Conservation Area

The Shafran Conservation area is a 65.3 acre parcel of land on the northerly side of Eaton Road in the northwest section of Tolland. It was purchased on June 24, 2002 from Raja Peggy and Dimitry Shafran.

The parcel abuts land owned and preserved by the Connecticut Water Company as part of the Shenipsit Lake Watershed. The Lake serves as a public drinking water supply for Vernon, a portion of Tolland, University of Connecticut and nearby towns. The protection of the forest benefits the Shenipsit Lake water quality and the ground water in the aquifer underneath the property.

The Shafran Conservation Area is a woodland area with two ponds and meandering streams. The site is bisected by Cemetery Brook and Browns Brook. Browns Brook flows into Cemetery Brook which, in turn, flows westerly to Charter’s Brook which empties into Shenipsit Lake. Where the brooks enter the property from the east, the terrain flanking the brooks rises abruptly, forming a sandy escarpment and upland. The brooks join together and then pass through lowlands from which the terrain rises more gradually to drier uplands. The brooks are Surface and Stream Water Quality Class AA, which is the highest rating obtainable.

The Shafran property is forested with several plant communities. A small, dense stand of Pitch Pine occupies a site to the far southwest corner of the property. Several White Pines of considerable size are present. There is a Red Oak/Low Blueberry forest with a shrubby understory composed of blueberry and Mountain Laurel. At the east side of the property the trail passes through a grove of Mountain Laurel. In the moist lowlands, the dominant canopy tree is the Red Maple with Cinnamon Fern forming a nearly uninterrupted understory. Along the edge of the ponds grow a narrow margin of sedges and grasses. Deer tracks, snakes, trout, owls, rabbits and the Cooper’s Hawk have been observed on the property.

  

  

More pictures are on our Shafran Facebook page.