FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 17, 2019
CONTACT:
Keegan Tierney, Director of Field Programs
(802) 241-8320; [email protected]
#hikevt
Kelsey Evans, Web & Communications Specialist
(802) 723-6551; [email protected]
Kingdom Heritage Trail System Opening June 22nd
In 2001, the Green Mountain Club submitted a Hiking Trail Corridor Management Plan for the former Champion International timberlands in Essex County and became the official Corridor Manager for hiking trails there. The plan envisioned a network of foot trails connecting the existing paths on Bluff Mountain in Island Pond, Gore Mountain in Avery’s Gore, and the Silvio O. Conte National Fish & Wildlife Refuge in Brunswick.
On Saturday, June 22, 2019 – after nearly twenty years of visioning, planning, and construction – we are pleased to officially open the 20-mile Kingdom Heritage Trail System.
The project represents an exhaustive partnership effort, led by Green Mountain Club, NorthWoods Stewardship Center, and Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, in collaboration with Weyerhaeuser Timber, Sweet Tree LLC, US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Town of Brighton, Vermont Land Trust, LandVest, and many others.
From its inception in 1998, the Kingdom Heritage Trail system (which includes the Bluff Mountain Community Trail, Bluff Ridge Trail, Unknown Pond Trail, Middle Mountain Trail, Gore Mountain Trail, and Gore Mountain East Trail) was envisioned as a backcountry path that traverses the remote and rugged working forestlands of northern Essex County.
To transform that vision into a reality, youth crews from the NorthWoods Stewardship Center’s Conservation Corps set to work on building out the trails. Over the next twenty summer field seasons, nearly 120 local teenagers and young adults from Island Pond and surrounding towns in the Northeast Kingdom worked for a cumulative 38 weeks developing the Kingdom Heritage Trail System under the guidance of Luke O’Brien, then NorthWoods Trails Director, now with VT Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, and NorthWoods Conservation Corps leadership Ross Stevens, Dusty May, and Jon Cox.
The completed trail highlights the unique natural features of the Northern Forest landscape, promotes quiet recreation and backcountry travel, honors the forest economy and logging culture of the region, and supports local economic development in communities such as Island Pond.
“What this opening represents is a longtime dream come true,” said Jean Haigh, a founding member of GMC’s Northeast Kingdom Section and past president of GMC. “At a small gathering in East Burke on a hot summer day in 2000, a small group of volunteers heard about the possibility of a new developing trail in the wildest areas of the Northeast Kingdom. We became the fourteenth section of the Green Mountain Club, ready to put boots on the ground!”
“Over the next nineteen years, we participated in public hearings, developed management plans, sought approvals, scouted for trails through the rugged hills and valleys, and we have finally arrived at our destination. Twenty years and twenty miles – the trail is complete.”
Please join us for the opening celebration!
Where – Island Pond behind the railroad station
When – June 22, 2019
9am – Opening remarks
10am – Guided hikes on the new trail
4pm – Après gathering at Essex House & Tavern
Established in 1910 to build the Long Trail, the Green Mountain Club is a member-supported private non-profit organization. The GMC is dedicated to maintaining and protecting Vermont’s historic Long Trail, Appalachian Trail, and trails in the Northeast Kingdom. Every year more than 1,000 volunteers work so that future generations will enjoy the 500-mile Long Trail System. Contact the Green Mountain Club to learn more or to become a member.
The NorthWoods Stewardship Center is a non-profit 501(c)3 educational, research and conservation service organization serving the communities of northern Vermont and New Hampshire since 1989. Our Education, Conservation Corps, and Forest Stewardship Initiative programs interconnect to provide the knowledge and skills needed to understand the northern landscape, make use of its resources wisely, and help sustain vibrant communities and a healthier natural environment. Our Charleston, Vermont, campus is a destination for quality scientific research, youth and adult education, sustainable land-management and conservation services, and outdoor recreation.
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