DeNormandie Woods/Long Hill

The DeNormandie Woods/Long Hill Conservation Project will safeguard critical natural habitat, an established trail system, and important watershed land from development. 

Part of a 1,400-acre expanse of protected forestland spanning the Manchester, Essex, and Gloucester municipal lines, these 330 acres are an unusually large stretch of undeveloped land in this area.

In the late 1990s, the community united to protect part of what was then known as the Long Hill project. This campaign now seeks to finalize the acquisition and ensure the permanent protection of the DeNormandie land.

The DeNormandie Woods Conservation Project includes Long Hill and links together City of Gloucester drinking water supply land, conservation land owned by the Town of Manchester, and parcels owned by Greenbelt and Manchester Essex Conservation Trust. 

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• Protects an existing, expansive trail network that connects Hooper Trask in the south to Cranberry Pond and Mount Ann in the north. Broad cart paths and twisty singletrack trails are all well-maintained and beloved by local hikers and mountain bikers.
• Ensures watershed protection, encompassing the headwaters of both Cat Brook and Wolf Trap Brook.
• Safeguards natural habitat, as identified by the Commonwealth as BioMap 3 Core Habitat and Critical Natural Landscape.
• Protects land identified by The Nature Conservancy as among the most resilient to the effects of climate change from being developed.