BROOKFIELD — Conservationists want to connect a newly opened 45-acre sanctuary to the town’s 116-acre Burr Farm preserve with a bridge over Dingle Brook that would be made with birch trees harvested from the forests.

“And how many trees do you have to take down?” asked Sharon Fox, chair of Brookfield’s wetlands commission during a meeting this week.

Two, responded Tara Spears, the public lands manager for the nonprofit Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy, a Kent-based land trust seeking permission to build the bridge.

“Any animals living in those trees now?” Fox asked during a Monday meeting.

The lands manager wasn’t sure.

“Can you check?” Fox said. “When are you guys planning to do this?

“Late summer or early fall,” responded Spears.

“Whosever had nests there is probably gone. We will probably put that in the motion that if the work isn’t done in the fall … and you want to do it in the spring then you have to come back to us … and that might be one thing we talk about to make sure the trees don’t have any nesting birds in there.”

Fox was referring to a plan by Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy to improve The Ledges preserve it opened last year on the Newtown border with a 40-foot timber bridge and connecting trail.

“Both the First Selectman’s office and the Conservation Commission have approved this project,” says an application letter by the land trust. “A trail use agreement with the town is in development … (and) NCLC will oversee the work and remain responsible for trail and infrastructure maintenance connecting the properties.”

The bridge would help connect Brookfield nature lovers to the town’s newest forest of Eastern hemlock, black birch, and yellow birch. The Ledges is home to bobcats, coyotes, and white-tailed deer.

The bridge permit could be voted on as soon as the wetlands commissions’ Aug. 10 meeting.

“Whose tree is coming down — yours or ours?” Fox asked during Monday’s meeting.

“It’s right on the border,” Spears said. “There is going to be one on the town side and one on the other side.”

“I assume you are just taking the trees down with a chainsaw?” Fox asked. “And to get a log like this across Dingle Brook — that can’t be done with strong guys, can it?”

Not entirely, Spears said. The trees will be cut to fall across the stream. They will be moved into place with mechanical winches.

“(T)wo trees near the bridge site can be harvested, milled on site, and used to build the footbridge,” the land trust’s application reads. “This construction method, which uses local wood, reduces labor and disturbance to the local landscape while also lowering material and delivery costs. The result is a natural-looking bridge that blends in with its surroundings, enhancing the user experience.”

“I’m not seeing any particular problem with this once we get the two documents from the town to allow you to do this,” Fox said.

July 30, 2026