Recent Land Protection Projects

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The Nature Conservancy continues to work around the state to safeguard Vermont’s natural communities and wildlife habitat. Below is a summary of this past year’s land projects.

Although these projects have closed, fundraising is ongoing to raise the money to fully fund them.

This is where you come in. We need your help to keep doing conservation projects like these. To support continued conservation work, please donate today.

Also, we are starting an exciting new campaign to protect the Equinox Highlands in southwest Vermont. You can check out the campaign statement online.

Morristown Bog, 29 acres, Morristown
The first project resulting from a partnership between The Nature Conservancy and Stowe Land Trust, this 29-acre parcel contains a portion of Morristown Bog, a place of abundant pitcher plants and stunted black spruce and tamarack trees. Rare southern twayblade and white fringed orchids thrive here along with uncommon orchids like grass pink and rose pogonia.

Total Project Cost: $179,400
Funds Raised: $169,000
Funds Needed: $10,400

Old Marsh Pond, 39 acres, Fair Haven
Located at the north end of Old Marsh Pond, this newly purchased property is near Conservancy-owned land and several thousand acres of Bomoseen State Park. Natural features like an intact deep bulrush marsh, a deepwater marsh, stinkpot turtles, and a number of rare plants made this parcel a target for protection.

Total Project Cost: $172,000
Funds Raised: $81,000
Funds Needed: $91,000

Black Mountain, 198 acres, Dummerston
The Conservancy closed on the purchase of an attractive 198-acre parcel at our Black Mountain Natural Area this October. Located on the western slopes of Black Mountain, the West River Granite Quarry parcel supports a large red pine forest community, habitat for the stateendangered scrub oak, the state-endangered
Greene’s rush, and five other rare species.

The parcel also has three-quarters of a mile of frontage on the West River, which is a significant aquatic conservation priority for the Conservancy. A notable white pine-red oak-black oak forest grows on a sandy terrace of the river. This conservation deal is the result of a six-year effort and brings the total protected acreage at Black Mountain to 553 acres.

Total Project Cost: $464,517
Funds Raised: $365,000
Funds Needed: $99,517

Equinox Highlands, 312 acres, Manchester
With its lush forests and hiker appeal, this large parcel on Mount Equinox is an important piece of our conservation work in the Equinox Highlands. The deal arose out of several years of negotiation between The Nature Conservancy and the Southern Vermont Arts Center (SVAC) of Manchester, who will be selling us this forested parcel to ensure its long-term protection. There is a 1-mile SVAC loop trail on the property that links up with the adjacent Equinox Preservation Trust trail system, making this an inviting place for visitors.

Total Project Cost: $940,000
Funds Raised: $605,000
Funds Needed: $335,000

Chittenden County Uplands, 285 acres, Bolton
The protection of this 285-acre parcel near Mount Mansfield is the Conservancy’s most recent effort is part of the Chittenden County Uplands Conservation Project, a partnership of over a dozen conservation organizations and state agencies now in its fourth year. Situated in a landscape that is still largely forested and abundant in wildlife, this parcel is visited by local bears that leave their scratch marks on the trees. Skiers and snowshoers cross the parcel on the Catamount Trail.

Total Project Cost: $127,985
Funds Raised: $127,985
Funds Needed: $0

Winter 2007 Annual Report Contents Page