The Vermont Land Trust and Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association announced that 70 more acres in Athens, Westminster, and Rockingham were added to the Windmill Ridge Nature Reserve.
The newly protected land was originally two parcels - the Association purchased the Bemis parcel in 2014 and the Brelsford parcel as part of this transaction. This land was an unconserved gap in the otherwise protected reserve.
With the addition of the new parcels, the Windmill Ridge Nature Reserve now encompasses 1,934 acres in Athens, Brookline, Putney, Westminster, Rockingham, and Grafton.
Now that these 70 acres have been permanently preserved through a conservation easement (a legal document that limits development and subdivision), public access is ensured to the entire 24-mile trail system.
The conservation of this forestland will protect wildlife habitat and public recreation. It also protects an interesting historical site: the Hazen Farm homestead site (circa 1870). This is an intact cultural feature of a late-19th century Vermont hill farm. The Bemis Hill Trail runs along the southern and western boundary, and connects to other Association trails. These trails are open for nonmotorized public use.
“The Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association is excited to conserve more acres of crucial wildlife habitat and better protect the ridgeline trail from future development,” the Association's Land Acquisitions Committee Chair Paul Wilson said in a news release. “We are incredibly appreciative that so many people are willing to work with us to help protect this important land and to ensure that these lands remain accessible for hiking, hunting, and observing nature.”
A grant from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board helped to support this conservation project. These lands will be owned and managed by the Association, with a conservation easement co-held by Vermont Land Trust and Conservation Board.
The Vermont Land Trust will perform stewardship duties by checking in on the property annually.