Vermont Land Trust - Blue Spruce Farm Conserves Large Tract of Farmland

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 16, 2008
For more information contact:
Allen Karnatz - Vermont Land Trust Champlain Valley Co-Director at (802) 434-3079 or Elise Annes, Vice President for Community Relations, Vermont Land Trust at (802) 223-5234

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Blue Spruce Farm Conserves Large Tract of Farmland

Bridport, VT – The Audet family, owners of Blue Spruce Farm, have been farming in Bridport since the 1950s. This month, the family conserved 441 acres of farmland that lies on the north side of Route 125, the Vermont Land Trust announced today.

The Audets decided to conserve the land soon after they purchased it from Stephen and Margaret Cooke in 2007. Funding for the farmland’s conservation was provided by the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board. The conservation easement restricts future subdivision and commercial development; it does allow for the construction of one house for farm workers.

Three Audet brothers—Eugene, Earle and Ernie—and over 20 family members and employees manage the modern dairy operation that includes a methane digester, which turns manure into electricity. All told, the family milks over 1,000 cows.

The Audets standing by a field on their conserved Blue Spruce Farm.

Eugene & Marie Audet

“This was a business decision for us,” commented Eugene Audet. “Selling the development rights helps our bottom line. We’re in the dairy business for the long haul and we need this land for growing hay and corn, not for growing houses. We feel we’re good stewards of the land and that conserving this parcel fits in well with our business goals.”

Bridport has some of the largest blocks of conserved farmland in Vermont,” said Allen Karnatz, of the Vermont Land Trust. “It’s an important economic engine for the New England dairy industry. The town recognizes the importance of farming to the regional and local economy and we had good community support from both the Selectboard and the Planning Commission.”

In addition to farmland, the conserved property also has 13 acres of woods on its northern boundary that is Clayplain forest, an uncommon natural area.

“I’m pleased the Audets conserved this land,” said Keith Hartline, a resource conservationist with the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service in Middlebury. “It is a very large parcel of productive farmland and the Audents are excellent managers. They are the 2008 Otter Creek Conservation Farmers of the Year and I've always been impressed with their community involvement and their communication within the family unit. It may be a large farm, but it's a family farm first.”

The Vermont Land Trust is a statewide, member-supported, nonprofit land conservation organization. Since 1977, the Vermont Land Trust has permanently conserved more than 1,500 parcels of land covering 480,000 acres, or about eight percent of the private, undeveloped land in the state. The conserved land includes more than 660 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, www.vlt.org.