The state of Connecticut wants to convey away a landlocked parcel that’s in the middle of woods.

That land-locked status likely makes the parcel ideal for its future proposed use, but not for much else, state records show.

Not only is the site on Bushnell Hollow Road in Sprague oddly shaped, it’s also “comprised of four vacant wooded parcels”  along the Shetucket River, and it “consists of two islands and a peninsula that are separated from the main parcel by the Shetucket River,” state records show.

It is also is subject to a Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Flood Management Certificate “which restricts construction on the parcel due to its location in a FEMA mapped flood zone,” records show.

So, no access, a river and possible flooding issues. “The state of Connecticut is proposing to transfer this property: The property has been deemed excess and no longer is needed for transportation purposes,” records show.

Now the land and its future are before the legislature’s Government Oversight Committee, and “following the legislative process with a public hearing required and then legislative approval,” according to Chris Collibee, communications director for the state Office of Policy and Management.

That means that a land conveyance questionnaire has gone out and has been completed and submitted to the committee, records show. Among information contained in the answers to the questionnaire is that the assessed value of the site is $14,720, as of 2024 per Sprague Assessor, that it is a site of 46.8 acres and the state Department of Transportation has “custody” of the property. A different document states the value of property as $21,030, “with knowledge that the parcel is landlocked.”

Further, the property abuts an active rail line, the entity receiving the property expects not to have to pay for it, there are no deed or other restrictions on the use of the property, other than that there can be no construction on property since it is located in a floodplain and the state agency that has custody of the property was not asked to convey the property to the town or other entity, records show.

A supplemental conveyance questionnaire notes it has no buildings; no other impervious cover, such as parking lots, roads, driveways, sidewalks; no developed open space, such as lawn, turf, or playing field; no natural meadow, grassland, or active agriculture, but does have forest and water bodies.

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The state Council on Environment Quality describes the site as “four vacant wooded parcels located south of Bushnell Hollow Road” and said that the total acreage is proposed to be transferred.

It further notes that, with regard to whether the property is in an area identified by the Natural Diversity Data Base as containing state-listed species and/or significant natural communities, that mapping “indicates potential presence of State species.” The species are not named.

The property had nothing listed on the National Register of Historic Places or designated as a National Historic Landmark, records show.

So what about its proposed future use?

“This parcel would be held for conservation purposes,” said Dennis S. Main, president of Avalonia Land Conservancy, Inc., which is the organization the land is proposed to go to.

The same is true with nearly all “the over 5,400 acres conserved by Avalonia Land Conservancy, Inc.,” Main said. It would be in addition to “other parcels we already conserve or are in the process of working to conserve also.”

Avalonia Land Conservancy, which was founded in 1968, describes itself as “a land trust dedicated to conservation through the acquisition of open space. It is a non-profit, non-political, tax-exempt organization. We believe that the conservation of natural resources for the benefit of people and wildlife is essential and will ensure healthy and livable communities for generations to come.”

It has multiple preserves, including in Groton, Ledyard, Griswold, Stonington, Preston, Norwich and other towns.

Originally Published: April 19, 2025 at 5:45 AM EDT