GOSA began as the Save the Haley Farm Committee, active in the late 1960s. The following account, taken from Connecticut State Park Observer, A Publication of Connecticut State Parks, Inc., Spring 2000, describes GOSA's role in the effort to preserve Haley Farm:

"Heroic Efforts Highlight History of Haley Farm and Bluff Point

"Many among the thousands who visit Haley Farm and Bluff Point Reserve annually are unaware of the efforts and determination that led to the formation of these state parks. In the 1960s Haley Farm was being considered for apartment and housing development and Bluff Point was being examined for highly developed recreational purposes. A group of citizens led by Sidney Van Zandt [GOSA's first president] vowed to keep these two unspoiled coastal areas in their natural state for future generations.

"Haley Farm

"The preservation of Haley Farm was the result of an agreement--if private funds of $50,000 were donated to the State, it would provide the rest of the money and purchase Haley Farm. Accepting the challenge, the Save the Haley Farm Committee initiated a whirlwind of fund raising activities. Their blitz included brochures, TV and radio talk show appearances, newspaper articles, suppers, bake sales, and a rock concert. In 1970, the drive went over the top and Haley Farm became the states newest park, dedicated to passive recreational uses.

"Today, Haley Farm remains under the watchful eye of the Groton Open Space Association, advocates for Haley Farm and Bluff Point State Parks. Annual clean-up days are held, the fields are mowed, and park improvements are reviewed to ensure that restoration or maintenance is done with indigenous material that conforms to the original farm conditions.

[Click here for an in-depth history of Haley State Farm.]

[Click here for a front-line account of how Bluff Point and Haley Farm were saved.]

"Bluff Point

"In the 1960s the state owned a portion of the point and planned a fully developed park with a major access road, paved parking lots, filled in marshes, and pavilions. A special advisory council (the Bluff Point Advisory Council), composed of representatives from government and citizen groups established to review the plan, urged the state to acquire the rest of Bluff Point. When this was done, the council determined the best use of the 778-acre parcel would be a coastal reserve, modeled after the coastal reserves of California.

"In 1975, the Bluff Point Coastal Reserve Act was passed, granting the area the highest possible protection in the state park system. Later, when another issue arose, the council, Sidney Van Zandt, and other concerned citizens rallied to successfully defend the Reserve from the proposed construction of a sewer outfall pipe that would span its entire length.

"Nearly 200,000 people visited Bluff Point in 1998. Haley Farm and Bluff Point will soon be connected by a pedestrian bridge spanning the railroad tracks. [The bridge has been completed since this account was written.] The parks exist because there were individuals who cared."

Haley Farm State Park is now home to many rare and endangered birds. As many of Connecticut's farms revert to forest, or become developed, shrub and grassland habitats are becoming scarce. GOSA continues to raise funds to increase the principle of the maintenance fund, in order to continue the practice of mowing.

Of the total authorization, $6 million was spent. It was used to purchase the Copp property, located north of the Groton Reservoir, land on River Road in Mystic, the Kiley property, located north of the Groton Senior Center, Burrows Field, now known as Poquonnock Plains Park, the Mortimer Wright Nature Preserve, in Noank, and a parcel of the Merritt property, located behind St Mary's Church, at the top of Fort Hill.