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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 30, 2008 | |||
| Siblings and Neighbors Protect Working Forest and Bear Habitat Brother and sister John Schafer and Tina long, who grew up in Arlington, donated a conservation easement on their family property in Arlington, the Vermont Land Trust announced today. Once part of a farm known locally as Ice Pond Farm, the forested property was cut off from the farm by the construction of Route 313 in the 1970s. Although the farm was sold years ago, the working forestland has been in the Schafer family for two generations. Its highly productive soils and John and Tina’s good forest management make the land an excellent timber resource. “When my sister and I were growing up at Ice Pond Farm we called this area the sugarbush,” remembered John. “Our parents tapped the maples that grew on this hilly stretch of land and made maple syrup. I have fond memories of putting rain covers on sap buckets with my father and hanging out with him at the sap house which lay right where Route 313 is now.” The family stopped sugaring and began to use the land for timber. In the early 1980s, the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife, in conjunction with the U.S. Forest Service, identified the area immediately south of Arlington and Sunderland as one of the highest priority wildlife corridors in Bennington County. "The Arlington wildlife corridor connects these two large mountain ranges and is recognized as one of the six most important landscape linkages in the Northeast," said Doug Blodgett, a wildlife biologist with the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife. Because the Green Mountain range parallels the northern end of the Taconic Mountains, and the distance between them is small at this point, many wildlife species use the corridor to pass from one range to another. Seeking both food sources and mates, the bear population use of this area has been well documented. "The cutting edge of conservation is recognizing the significance of these wildlife corridors and securing the parcels that are integral to them. Protecting this corridor contributes to the integrity and viability of wildlife habitat, allowing many species the ability to move between ranges," said Blodgett. The conservation easement will prevent future development on the land. John and Tina donated the development rights and helped pay for costs associated with project. In addition, more than a dozen generous neighbors donated funds critical to completing the effort. “The neighbors made this project possible,” said Donald Campbell of the Vermont Land Trust. “Long-term land protection requires a perpetual obligation to the land, and without the neighbor's financial generosity, VLT could not have taken on this commitment.” The Freeman Foundation provided a grant to help document the land and endow long-term stewardship and legal protection of the property. “Thanks to the Vermont Land Trust and this easement most of the ‘sugarbush’ will remain as it was when we were there: undeveloped but useful—a working forest, a wildlife corridor, and, for my sister and me, a place that evokes some powerful memories,” said John. John and Tina’s land abuts 163 acres of previously protected land owned by Nancy Boardman. The Vermont Land Trust plans to continue to work with private landowners in the corridor area to ensure that the forest landscape remains available for logging, recreation and animal habitat.
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 670 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. | |||
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