Vermont Land Trust Press Release - Decision by Private Landowner Leads to Keiser Pond Frontage Conservation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 5, 2007

Decision by Private Landowner Leads to Keiser Pond Frontage Conservation

With more than 80 percent of Vermont’s forestland in private ownership, and at risk of subdivision, it is a good thing that Vermont has forestland owners like Wil Merck. Wil, of Essex Timber Company, has been purchasing land around Keiser Pond in Danville and Peacham for 14 years, anticipating that someday he would conserve it. This Friday, Wil sold 39 acres around the pond to the state at a greatly reduced cost and protected another 65 acres and 900 feet of Keiser Pond frontage by donating a conservation easement to the Vermont Land Trust. This conservation project was a successful collaboration between Wil, the Passumpsic Valley Land Trust, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, the Vermont Land Trust and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. Wil hopes that future generations will enjoy the wildness and solitude offered on this relatively undeveloped pond.

“It's pretty unusual to have a pond that size that's practically undeveloped,” said Wil, who, until Friday, owned half the frontage on the pond. “It was always such a peaceful place to put a canoe in. I thought I'd take the chance and try to conserve the shoreline.”

The land purchased by the state includes 3,900 feet of lake frontage that will become a new Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department Wildlife Management Area. The property is used for fishing and for watching wildlife, such as loons, mallards, wood ducks, beavers, otters and muskrats. “When you go to that pond you get a feeling you’re in a remote Northeast Kingdom pond” said Paul Hamelin, of VT Fish & Wildlife. “It provides the people in the Danville area with a semi-wilderness experience close to home.”

According to Hamelin, conservation of the undeveloped land around Keiser Pond will secure a shoreline buffer made up of trees and plants that filter pollutants that would otherwise enter the pond, and woody debris that provides habitat for insects and the fish that eat them. A recent natural heritage inventory commissioned by the Danville Planning Commission, lists Keiser Pond as one of the top ecological sites in Danville due to its rich diversity of aquatic plants, associated wetlands and undeveloped status.

“As Vermont lakes become more developed, opportunities to protect large stretches of undeveloped frontage are becoming very rare and prohibitively expensive,” said Tracy Zschau, of the Vermont Land Trust. “And, as land becomes subdivided into smaller parcels it is increasingly difficult to effectively manage wildlife. Wil Merck’s commitment to Keiser Pond and his generosity in making such a significant donation means that generations to come can experience the natural beauty and wildlife of this pond.”

One of the special features of Keiser Pond is its closeness to the towns of Danville and Peacham; this makes the area accessible to people who otherwise might not be able to enjoy a wilderness experience. “Keiser Pond is a place where folks can canoe, fish, kayak and view wildlife in a slow-paced, safe-feeling environment,” said Kellie Merrell, president of the Passumpsic Valley Land Trust. “Access is easily afforded from the public boat ramp and whether or not you venture onto the lake, the scenery and quiet you behold is precious.”

In addition to Wil’s donations, funding also came from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board and a grant to the Passumpsic Valley Land Trust from the Upper Connecticut River Mitigation and Enhancement Fund, which is administered by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and the Vermont Community Foundation.

In total, this project will protect over 70 percent of the shoreline of Keiser Pond through State ownership and permanent conservation easements. "I really hope that the pond stays the way it has been,” said Wil after the closing. “It’s a neighborhood resource — a place for people to bring their kids and have a place to paddle and see the loons."

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

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.