Beverly and Randy Major first conserved their home property in 1999. This fall, they amended their conservation easement to protect an additional 11 acres. The added land consists of a mix of woodland and open fields that the Majors use to pasture their horses and their son David’s sheep from his adjacent farm. The forest includes mixed northern hardwoods and an unnamed stream traverses the property. Springs that serve the residence and barn originate from the newly conserved acreage. (October).

Roger Allbee, Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food and Markets, at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the latest addition to the Windmill Hill Nature Reserve and Trail in Brookline and Westminster.

The Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association (WHPA) purchased 111 acres in Westminster and Brookline from Richard Cowan. This acquisition adds important scenic and recreational land to the expanding Windmill Ridge Nature Reserve and Trail, which is now over 1,500 acres. Situated on the flanks of the Pinnacle, the highest point in the range, the property contains hardwood trees estimated to be 200 years old, deeryards, and several intermittent streams and seasonal waterfalls that empty into Grassy Brook. “The land is unique in that it provides public access to the northern section of the reserve and ridge for the town of Brookline,” said Camilla Roberts of the WHPA. Once acquired, the land was then conserved with the Vermont Land Trust and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board. “Parting with the land wasn’t easy,” said Rick Cowen, the former landowner. “As time passed, I realized that it was the right thing to do—for me, my family and the land itself. And, who could imagine a better neighbor than the Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association?” Funded by VHCB. (October)

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