Vermont Land Trust Press Release - Craftsbury Neighbors Act Together in Conservation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 17, 2007

Craftsbury Neighbors Act Together in Conservation

Ann Ingerson, Dave Brown, Steve Wright Steve Wright has been a neighbor to husband and wife, Dave Brown and Ann Ingerson, in Craftsbury for over 20 years. They’ve done many things together during this time — fished the Black River, which runs through their properties, hunted for turkey and deer, created and managed a trail system, and generally looked after each other’s land. This year they simultaneously decided to conserve their land by donating conservation easements on their properties this week, the Vermont Land Trust announced today.

"I have had the privilege of using this small piece of Vermont for almost 40 years, nearly 25 as the ‘owner,’” said Steve Wright. “I would like for future generations to have that same privilege — especially for hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing and other appropriate outdoor recreation uses. I'm pleased my neighbors and I could agree on a common vision for both ownerships."

Together, the adjacent Wright and Brown/Ingerson properties — 81 and 71 acres respectively — share a half mile of common boundary as well as 2,800 feet of road frontage, almost two miles of frontage on the Black River, and 132 acres of managed forest. A portion of their trail system is used each winter as part of the Craftsbury Ski Center trail system and is part of the route of the annual cross country ski marathon.

“This is a great example of neighbors working together to achieve a greater conservation outcome,” said Tracy Zschau of the Vermont Land Trust. “A significant parcel of managed woodland, trails and river frontage will continue to provide timber, habitat and recreation into the future.”

The Vermont Land Trust helps landowners and communities conserve land through the use of conservation easements. Landowners use easements to voluntarily limit development on productive farmland and forestland, and other meaningful natural and community places. Landowners continue to own, manage, and pay taxes on the land and can sell their land; however, the conservation easement permanently remains on the property.

“As residents of a rural town, we sometimes take it for granted that we can roam around in the woods, cut firewood and fenceposts, snowshoe and pick fiddleheads, and watch the hemlocks and pines get really big,” said Ann Ingerson. “We want to be sure that future neighbors can still wander out their back doors and experience the outdoors in the way we can today.”

The Vermont Land Trust is a statewide, member-supported, nonprofit land conservation organization. Since 1977, the Vermont Land Trust has permanently conserved more than 1,400 parcels of land covering 470,000 acres, or about eight percent of the private, undeveloped land in the state. The conserved land includes more than 630 working farms, hundreds of thousands of acres of productive forestland, and numerous parcels of community lands. This conservation work changes the lives of families, invigorates farms, launches new businesses, maintains scenic vistas, encourages recreational opportunity, and fosters a renewed sense of community. For more information or to become a member, contact: Vermont Land Trust, 8 Bailey Avenue, Montpelier, VT 05602, (802) 223-5234.

For more information, please contact: Elise Annes, Vice President for Community Relations, Vermont Land Trust at (802) 262-1206; or Tracy Zschau, Regional Director, Northeast Kingdom, at (802) 748-6089