GUILFORD — George and Joan Weir, longtime Windham County residents, have donated a conservation easement on 287 acres of woodland in Guilford.
The property, a large working forest managed for long rotations of hardwood timber, abuts previously conserved lands and borders the Green River just below the historic Green River covered bridge and crib dam.
The couple have a long history of working with forestland in southeastern Vermont.
George, a private consulting forester, has helped landowners manage southern Vermont woodlands for more than 40 years.
Joan worked in regional planning for the Windham Regional Commission for more than 10 years before joining Vermont Land Trust in 1999 as the regional director for southeastern Vermont. Over the years, she has worked with landowners to conserve farms, family woodlands, town forests, and community lands such as recreational, historic and scenic sites.
The Weirs' belief in the value of protecting Vermont's working farms and forests was made further evident by this conservation easement donation.
The couple decided to conserve their land to keep it a large block of working forest. They accomplished this by donating a conservation easement, a legal tool that limits development and subdivision. Landowners who have conserved their land continue to own, manage, and pay taxes on the property and can sell it; however, the conservation easement permanently remains on the land.
Productive forests keep local loggers and mills in business, provide necessary habitat for many wildlife species, and help keep Vermont the rural, scenic, working state it has long been.