VHCB’s forest conservation efforts are focused in two areas: (1) the purchase of conservation easements on privately-owned working forests, and (2) the funding of land acquisitions by municipalities looking to create or enlarge a town forest.
Natural Areas
Vermonter’s connections to the land are closely tied to our State’s natural heritage. VHCB investments in land conservation help protect the State’s most important natural areas, from habitat for rare, threatened, and endangered species, to wetlands and floodplains that enhance the resiliency of our landscapes, to lands that provide critical habitat for wide-roaming animals and species that may need to move to cooler environments as the climate warms. VHCB protects those areas essential to our State’s natural heritage, so that our most cherished natural areas remain accessible to future generations of Vermonters.
Privately Owned Forestland
VHCB’s mission includes the conservation of Vermont’s forests, which have contributed economic benefits to many generations of Vermonters who work in the woods or who are engaged in forest products industries. Forests also provide wildlife habitat, water quality protection, flood resilience, carbon sequestration, and recreational amenities.
VHCB’s forest conservation efforts are focused in two areas: (1) the purchase of conservation easements on privately-owned working forests, and (2) the funding of land acquisitions by municipalities looking to create or enlarge a town forest.
Outdoor Recreation Lands Conservation
Vermonters have always had a special relationship with the land. For some, that love begins on a mountain top, from a cold plunge in a pool along a cascading brook, or deep in the forest in the crisp early hours of a November dawn. Access to the natural world–by snowmobile, foot, wheelchair, kayak, or bike–is important to our health and happiness. Outdoor recreation also brings business to rural towns, drawing visitors to regions rich in forests and waters.
VHCB funds help protect public access to lands well-suited to recreation, such as the Green River Reservoir, Bolton Backcountry, Mt. Ascutney, and State Wildlife Management Areas. Recreational land and natural areas conserved with VHCB funding are managed by towns and municipalities, non-profit conservation organizations and state agencies such as the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. To learn about public access points for trails, water access, etc, visit the websites of our partnering organizations and agencies, where directions and trail maps are maintained.
Public Access to Land Conserved with VHCB Funds
To visit properties conserved with VHCB funding, you can find information including directions and trail maps on the websites of the non-profit conservation organizations and state agencies listed below. These organizations maintain trails and public access points and are best able to inform the public of any changes or updates due to weather or road work, etc.
Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife
Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation
Catamount Trail Association
Cross Vermont Trail Association
Green Mountain Club
Green Mountain Conservancy
Hinesburg Land Trust
Jericho Underhill Land Trust
Lake Champlain Land Trust
Middlebury Area Land Trust
