A new round of state grants totaling almost $15 million will go toward preserving land throughout Connecticut as open green space.

One of the best ways to help protect our environment is to protect land from development by preserving it as open space for all residents to enjoy.

Stretching to all four corners of the state, over 2,626 acres of open space will be protected throughout 20 municipalities with this latest round of environmental grants.

Under the oversight of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), funding for the projects are part of the state’s Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Grant Program and the Urban Green and Community Gardens Grant Program. This is the largest round of open space protection grants both by acreage and total funding in over 10 years.

The biggest area is in Litchfield and Torrington and covers 650 acres. It is held by the Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy and is one of the largest undeveloped parcels remaining in Northwest Connecticut.

Another of the biggest parcels is 223 acres in Ledyard and is sponsored by the Avalonia Land Conservancy. Known as the Rowley Property, it contains significant wetlands, freshwater marsh, woodlands, and agricultural fields

Here's a complete list of the grants recently issued.

The legislature has set a goal of protecting just over 20%, or 673,210 acres, of the state’s land base as open space. This includes the state’s system of parks, forests, fisheries, and natural resource management areas, as well as land acquired by the state's partners, which include municipalities, nonprofit land conservation organizations, and water companies.

As one of the most densely populated states in the country, it is critical that we proactively protect and maintain our natural resources.