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West River Watershed Protection Gets a Boost from the Past

Riverside Trail Provides Access for Hikers, Bikers and Campers

LONDONDERRY, VT — April 23, 2008 — The Nature Conservancy and Vermont Land Trust announced today a cooperative exchange of 149.6 acres in the Town of Londonderry, at the confluence of the Winhall and West Rivers. Originally protected by the Conservation Society of Southern Vermont and bought by the Vermont Land Trust in 1999, the Claxton and Gorman parcels will now be owned and managed by the Conservancy to further protect the West River and its watershed. The West is one of only 11 national priority rivers in the Conservancy’s Sustainable Waters Initiative, and is considered to be one of the best rivers in the entire Connecticut River watershed for restoration of Atlantic salmon.

The Claxton and Gorman parcels were first protected in 1968 and 1969, thanks to the vision and commitment of the Conservation Society of Southern Vermont (CSSV). William Uptegrove, a former trustee of the CSSV commented, “The Society’s purpose was to serve as custodian of these areas until such time as more permanent conservation arrangements could be worked out with public or private owners.”

The forward-looking vision of the Society and its President C. Peter Strong succeeded in conserving more than 300 acres in the West River Greenway until its demise in December 1999. The Vermont Land Trust stepped forward to take ownership of the conserved parcels, conveying one acre to the State of Vermont for addition to Jamaica State Park and 16 acres at Pikes Falls, a popular swimming hole, to the Town of Jamaica. 

Gil Livingston, President of the Vermont Land Trust said, “We are pleased to fulfill the original vision of the Conservation Society of Southern Vermont by transferring this spectacular woodland along the West River to The Nature Conservancy, an excellent steward with both the expertise and the mission to fulfill that original vision.” 

Mature hardwood stands of sugar maple, ash and oak on the west and south facing slopes give way to towering hemlocks and white pines that form winter deeryards on east-facing slopes along the river. Vernal pools on the property are bustling with life as spring peepers, spotted salamanders and wood frogs emerge from hibernation to reproduce in relative safety. These seasonal pools support an incredible diversity of life, but cannot sustain fish which would otherwise prey on the egg masses and tadpoles. Competition for life is still fierce, turtles and snakes join in the fray to feed on the developing young, and nocturnal owls prey on adults traveling to and from the pond. The abundance of animal life produced by these temporary water bodies provides a vital food source for many forest animals.
 
The West River rail trail, which runs along the river at the base of the property, can be accessed from the Army Corps of Engineers Winhall Brook camping area on Route 100. During its operation from 1879 to 1935 the rail line from Brattleboro to Londonderry was known as ’36-miles of trouble’ with steep terrain, sharp corners and of course New England weather. Hikers and bikers today will find the trail much easier to navigate, and will enjoy beautiful views above the rushing waters of the West. American shad, American eel and brook trout inhabit the fast running river, state threatened freshwater mussels thrive in the river bed and the river banks support two globally rare tiger beetles.

Protecting Vermont’s landscape requires many hands. In the fall of 2003, the Vermont Land Trust and The Nature Conservancy entered into a partnership to enhance the conservation of natural resources, and hired ecologist Liz Thompson to act as a shared director of conservation biology. Of the nearly 250 projects considered under this arrangement 64 parcels have been protected with VLT working lands criteria, 40 with special conditions related to natural resources, and 12 projects have been passed outright to the Conservancy.

Access to Hamilton Falls, another of the Conservation Society of Southern Vermont’s iconic projects, was permanently protected last fall when The Nature Conservancy acquired the 312-acre Childs property on Glebe Mountain, with funding assistance from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board. A portion of the well-used trail from Jamaica State Park to the falls crosses this parcel, and was at risk of closure if the property had been developed.

“The Conservancy has a long history of working in the West River watershed, since we helped the Conservation Society of Southern Vermont finance a 629-acre conservation project in the 1970’s.  We later acquired this land from them and transferred it to the State of Vermont, to become the core of Jamaica State Park. Back then, CSSV’s vision for conservation along the West River included the Childs property, so it’s especially gratifying to have a hand in securing that tract over thirty years later,” said Bob Klein, director of the Conservancy’s Vermont chapter.

According to the Society literature soapless bathing was one of the attractions of the shady pools beneath Hamilton’s falls!

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.