Old Lyme — Nestled in a small offshoot of the Connecticut and Black Hall rivers is town-owned land with coastal water access, though you will not find it on the town's Open Space Commission's list of properties or maps.

The property at 36-1 Buttonball Road has been characterized as a hidden gem of biodiversity and peaceful marshlands, but now three different commissions in Old Lyme are in dispute about its possible use as a public boat launch or park area.

Amanda Blair, trustee of the abutting property at 38-1 Buttonball Road and co-chair of the Open Space Commission, said she has recused herself from any decisions on the property. At a meeting Monday, she and her co-chair, Evan Griswold, told the Board of Selectmen that the land was deeded to the commission in 2001.

According to April 26 minutes from an Inlands Wetlands Commission meeting, Harbor Management Commission board member Michael Barnes claimed the deed to the town and Open Space Commission for 36-1 Buttonball had as a condition that the property must be used for public water access.

“It feels that Open Space has had 20 years or so to do something with this property, and it’s stayed hidden," Barnes told the selectmen on Monday. "This parcel has value to our residents, and they (the commission) are being obstructionary." 

Who has jurisdiction over how to proceed with the parcel is now in question, as it involves three boards: the Inlands Wetlands, Open Space and Harbor Management commissions. 

Barnes said he flagged the tidal wetlands on 36-1 Buttonball Road to draw attention to the land, and also invited a representative from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection on an informal site walk of the property to evaluate it for a possible boat launch or dock.

As a Harbor Management representative, Barnes said, "It is our job to allow access to the Connecticut River.”

Rachael Gaudio, chair of the Inlands Wetlands Commission, said she previously had done a site walk and noted the presence of inland wetlands. She said she was attending the Board of Selectmen meeting Monday as a private citizen.

Gaudio, an Old Lyme native who holds an environmental law degree, told the selectmen, “Places like Buttonball are the reason I fell in love with nature preserves. If more of the town could have access to these places, it might start an evolution.”

Griswold and Blair both expressed concerns of environmental degradation and disrespect to both private property and town property that could result from public access.

“I personally and scientifically oppose this kind of intrusion to salt marshes...,” Griswold said. “We need to stay off the salt marshes and let them regenerate. Putting boardwalks over them won’t do them any good.”

Blair spoke fondly of two osprey nests on her property and a bald eagle’s nest nearby. “If you destroy the habitat, those ospreys won’t be here,” she said.

She and Griswold insisted that during low tide, the area would not be conducive to kayaking or canoeing because it basically turns into a mud bank.

According to Blair, some visitors to the Buttonball property are outright destructive. She recalled times when she has had to call the police due to trespassers partying, driving ATVs recklessly and dumping garbage. She claims that is what led her to purchase the “No Trespassing” signs that are posted on the private Black Hall Club’s property, adjacent to the shared driveway that accesses both her property and 36-1 Buttonball Road.

“I did it as a neighborly favor,” she told The Day.

Phil Neaton, superintendent of Black Hall Club, said, “I just hate to open it up more because I’m the guy that cleans up the mess." 

There have been other efforts to mitigate trespassers.

According to an Open Space Commission report completed by Griswold, Blair and her late husband, James, attempted to do a land swap to obtain 36-1 Buttonball Road in 2004. The deal, offered in a letter from George James, former chair of the Open Space Commission to representative Marilyn Giuliano and a DEEP representative, outlined a plan in which the Blairs would buy a piece of land on the Lieutenant River — better suited for a boat launch, in their opinion — in return for taking ownership over 36-1 Buttonball. The deal never came to fruition.

Griswold advised the commission members to research the situation and bring it back to the selectmen for a presentation. 

“In the long term, we want to see whatever happens be respectful of the land,” Griswold told The Day.