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In the Equinox Highlands, A Project that Benefits Both Art and Nature

 

The Oak Log: Autumn 2007 

Download a copy of the Autumn 2007 issue of The Oak Log (PDF, ~1MB).

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The Oak Log / Autumn 2007

The Nature Conservancy and the Southern Vermont Arts Center (SVAC) are working together to protect a popular 312-acre parcel in the Equinox Highlands. Rich in ecological significance, it is a spot that welcomes visitors with a network of trails, lush forested slopes, and the hope of a view from the ridgeline of Mount Equinox.

“Conserving this exceptional forested parcel supports the mission of both our organizations and moves us closer to the goal of protecting the wildflowers, wildlife, and water sources located in the forests of Mount Equinox,” says Bob Klein, Director of the Vermont chapter of The Nature Conservancy.

The 312-acre parcel is part of a larger property that includes the 95-acre campus SVAC will retain for their galleries and performance center. An agreement between the two organizations is still pending approval by SVAC’s membership and subdivision authorities, but hopes are high that several years of negotiation will ultimately lead to conservation success.

“This is a classic win-win situation on so many fronts for SVAC,” says Christopher Madkour, Executive Director of the Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester. “This sale will preserve the integrity of the forest, allow for continued recreation, and the proceeds will fund an endowment trust that will be devoted to furthering the Arts Center’s mission to make the arts an integral part of community life.”

The SVAC parcel will remain open for hikers as it has always been. There is a 1-mile SVAC loop trail on the property that links up with the adjacent Equinox Preservation Trust trail system, making this a perfect place to spend some unstructured time enjoying nature.

The purchase of the SVAC parcel will be one more success story in the Conservancy’s long history of conservation in the Equinox Highlands, where we have already protected over 1,800 acres. Known for their centuries-old rich northern hardwood forests, some of the finest in New England, the Highlands make up one of the few places in the Northeast where old growth forest has a good chance of firmly reestablishing itself. Towering sugar maples dominate these woods, in addition to birch, hickory, black cherry, and ash trees. Ten rare and uncommon plant species such as ginseng, glade fern, and goldenseal can be found in the understory.

The Equinox Highlands are also important to the local water supply. Because of the unusual karst (weathered marble and limestone) formations on the slopes of Mount Equinox, rainwater and snowmelt percolate down through the bedrock, filtering through an underground system of aquifers and streams that supplies the drinking water for the local community. This supply of cold, fresh water is vital for the Batten Kill River and its famous populations of wild brown and brook trout.

Several threats face the mature forests of the Highlands. In their midst is one of Vermont’s fastest growing residential and tourist areas, where new developments are springing to life with greater frequency, eating into the edges of the surrounding forests. Unsustainable forestry could also become an issue in the Highlands, depending on how forest parcels in the area are managed over the coming years. And burgeoning populations of invasive alien species such as honeysuckle, garlic mustard, and buckthorn, are creeping into the forest and out-competing native species.

Protection of the SVAC forestland is just one step in a larger vision to protect a significant portion of the Equinox Highlands. Stay tuned for a major announcement about The Nature Conservancy’s plans for conserving the Equinox Highlands in the annual report issue of The Oak Log.

For more information on the Equinox Highlands, visit our "Places We Protect" page or download a preserve profile on the Equinox Highlands (PDF, 218KB).

Return to Autumn 2007 Contents Page

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Oak Log Cover Design: The Laughing Bear Associates; Cover Photos © Sarah Wakefield/The Nature Conservancy (Pitcher plants and visitors to Morristown Bog).