This article was written by Mollie Flanigan, GMC conservation manager.
Break out your hiking boots and party hats – we have a Long Trail protection success to celebrate!
This month the Green Mountain Club and our partners, The Trust for Public Land and Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, conserved 160-acres that host 1/3 mile of Long Trail in Johnson and Waterville!
This conservation success was thirty-four years in the making and adds to the corridor of conserved lands that make our contiguous long-distance hiking trail possible.
The property stretches over the low-lying hills just south of Laraway Mountain and provide critical interior forest habitat for wildlife and the headwaters of streams that run into the Lamoille River.
The project was made possible through a capital appropriation from the Vermont General Assembly as well as with funding from the Fields Pond Foundation, Outdoor Gear Exchange, and private donors.
The land now owned by the State of Vermont and will be managed as part of the Long Trail State Forest. GMC holds a conservation easement on the land to ensure its perpetual protection and the Long Trail’s route through the property.
This project is GMC’s 103rd to protect the route of the Long Trail! We work with willing landowners and use a variety of legal tools, such as trail rights-of-way, easements, or land acquisition, to develop projects that meet our shared goals. There remains about six miles of Long Trail on private property and GMC and our partners will continue to work towards the protection of the entire trail.
This work is only made possible through the continuous support of GMC’s members, supporters, and partners. Thanks to everyone who brought this project to fruition, it’s a landmark worthy of celebration!
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