Menunkatuck Audubon Society: Changing Land, Changing Wildlife

Connecticut’s landscape has changed dramatically over the past 500 years, from forest to field to thicket and back to forest. Before colonial deforestation, Native peoples had already cleared land for agriculture, but European settlement accelerated the process dramatically. By the mid-1800s, roughly 70-80% of Connecticut's forests had been cleared for farmland, timber, and fuel. Species tied to deep forests — elk, gray wolf, mountain lion, and eventually black bear — were extirpated from the state. As farming shifted west and industrialized, Connecticut farms were abandoned en masse, and forests returned. Post-WWII development fragmented the reforested land into a patchwork of suburbs, roads, and woodlots rather than a continuous forest. As the land has changed, so have our wildlife. Join Margery Winters to learn how our current land-use and gardening practices affect our wild areas. Margery is the Assistant Director and instructor at Roaring Brook Nature Center in Canton, where she is delighted to share her passion for earth science and nature with students of all ages. She manages the Nature Center’s native plant gardens and advocates for the role of natives in our designed landscapes. She is a Master Landscape Design Consultant. Photo: Ryan Leimbach/Audubon Photography Awards