Wildlife Corridor Protected in Green Mountains

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – December 28, 2020

State and Conservation Organizations Connect Habitat
in Green Mountain National Forest and Okemo State Forest, across Route 155

Mount Holly, VT — The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation added nearly 350 acres to Okemo State Forest, helping to protect a 100-mile wildlife corridor extending from Massachusetts to Warren and Lincoln. The newly conserved property connects the protected public lands of the southern Green Mountain National Forest, Okemo State Forest, Coolidge State Forest, and the northern Green Mountain National Forest. This connectivity helps ensure that animals will have the uninterrupted habitat needed to find food, mates, and new territory.

The Mount Holly Conservation Trust, Vermont Land Trust, and the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation worked together to purchase the land, restore habitat, conserve the parcel, and add it to the Okemo State Forest.

This land is the source of the West River, Branch Brook, and Mill River. Its healthy high-elevation forest, streams, and wetlands support an abundance of wildlife, as well as numerous dispersed recreation opportunities for the public. The protected property also hosts a portion of a VAST trail and the Catamount Trail.

“This is one of two remaining parcels needed to complete a more than 30-year effort with many, many partners to conserve a strategic, state-significant wildlife corridor,” said Commissioner Louis Porter of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, whose department works closely with the Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation, and is responsible for the conservation of wildlife and wildlife habitat. “This project is a keystone in this effort [and] a testament to what Vermonters can do for conservation when they work together!”

In May 2019, the Vermont Land Trust bought the property from Ian and Kathryn McLean who generously sold it at a deep discount. The land trust conserved and transferred the land to the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation to be sustainably managed as part of Okemo State Forest.

“It’s exciting to see this ambitious project completed,” said Tracy Zschau, Vice President for Conservation at the Vermont Land Trust. “Partnering to protect forests, like the Okemo Wildlife Corridor, is key to supporting healthy habitat, recreational opportunities and the climate resilience of our land.”

The Mount Holly Conservation Trust spearheaded ambitious private fundraising to cover the cost of buying and permanently conserving the land. The State contributed to the campaign with funding from the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation; the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department; and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board. Funding from the federal Forest Legacy Program also helped to complete the project.

Private donations from more than 120 individual Vermonters made this conservation project possible. Adding to this, the Vermont Community Foundation provided an anonymous $100,000 challenge grant and $20,000 from the Lyman Orton Fund, both of which were critical early donations to the project. Another early anonymous gift of $150,000 put the effort on the path to success. The project also received funding from the Davis Conservation Fund, Vail Corporation’s Epic Promise, and the Anthony Marro Trust.

“This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create uninterrupted habitat, preserving wild places that make Vermont so special, and we’re grateful to our fundholders for investing in our shared future,” said Dan Smith, president and CEO of the Vermont Community Foundation.

“We’re inspired by the opportunity to protect the wild places of Mount Holly, and secure a small local effort to combat the effects of climate change,” noted Brigid Sullivan, President of the Mount Holly Conservation Trust’s board of directors. “At the same time, we’re also inspired by the fundholders and donors who choose to support our work.”

Read more about this project

Media contacts:

• Brigid Sullivan, Mount Holly Conservation Trust, [email protected]
• Tracy Zschau, Vermont Land Trust, [email protected], (802) 745-6301
• Gannon Osborn, Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, [email protected], (802) 622-4410

The Mount Holly Conservation Trust is a nonprofit, volunteer organization whose mission is to preserve the beauty and character of Mount Holly through the conservation of land, environment, and natural resources that are valued by the community. To help continue our work please visit: mounthollyconservationtrust.org/donate.

The Vermont Land Trust is a statewide, member-supported, nonprofit land conservation organization. Since 1977, the Vermont Land Trust has protected nearly 2,000 parcels of land covering more than 593,000 acres, or 11 percent of the state. This includes more than 900 working farms and farmland parcels, hundreds of thousands of acres of productive forestland, and numerous parcels of community lands. For more information or to become a member, visit vlt.org.

The Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation is responsible for the conservation and management of Vermont’s forests, the operation and maintenance of the Vermont State Park system, and the promotion and support of outdoor recreation for Vermonters and our visitors.

Photo copyright Alistair McCallum.