None The Nature Conservancy in Vermont Press Releases Search All Press Releases Emily Boedecker Phone: (802) 229-4425 x112 eboedecker@tnc.org

Nature Conservancy Expands Forest Restoration Site

Cooperative Deal Benefits Conservation and Farming

Benson, Vermont—4 November 2004--The Nature Conservancy announced today the expansion of its Hubbardton River Clayplain preserve, which is the focus of clayplain forest restoration efforts in the Champlain valley. In a cooperative land deal involving John and Nancy Wing, owners of Over-the-Hill Farm, and the Vermont Land Trust, the Conservancy will expand its preserve with the addition of 47 acres of clayplain soil, and the farm will acquire 25 acres of productive hay land.

"To successfully re-establish a stand of clayplain forest, the area being restored must be large enough to withstand natural threats," said Heather Potter, Director of The Nature Conservancy’s Southern Lake Champlain Valley Program. "The addition of 47 acres of high quality clayplain soils to the Hubbardton River Preserve brings our total acreage to 297, and greatly improves our chances of success."

Clayplain forest once dominated the Champlain Valley, but is now estimated to exist on only 10 percent of its historic range in Vermont. Small, isolated stands are vulnerable to a variety of threats, ranging from storm damage to invasions of exotic plant species. The Hubbardton River Clayplain Preserve, home to a rare, large, stand of clayplain forest, is the site of forest restoration studies to evaluate the growth rate and survival of native seedlings. With a rich variety of nut-producing trees such as oak and hickory, these forests are a vital food source for game and non-game wildlife.

The Wing family farm is a USDA certified organic facility, raising grass-fed livestock and processing the meat on the farm, in Benson, VT.

"Our farm ethic is to raise animals in a humane and environmentally friendly manner," said John Wing, owner of Over-the-Hill Farm., "Working with the Nature Conservancy and the Vermont Land Trust we have not only been able to preserve working farmland for future generations, we are also helping to restore forested land in the Champlain Valley."