Newsletter, November 2021 (No. 24 )
NRLT to Obtain Its First Easement in Walden
by Jack Travelstead
Scibetta/VanBuskirl's Walden conservation easement marked in red. Photo by Kyle Gray
During the last 20 years John Scibetta and Katharine VanBuskirk, of Sommerville, Mass., accumulated several contiguous parcels along Coles Pond Road in Walden. Today, their 456- acre property consists of northern hardwood forests, a beaver influenced wetland, and a 21- acre hayfield. The property enjoys long range views to the north from elevations nearing 2,400 feet, while it shares a southern border with the 10,400-acre Steam Mill Brook Wildlife Management Area. According to Vermont’s Biofinder Atlas, the property also provides for wildlife connectivity--the movement of animals from one habitat to another--of the highest priority.
John and Katharine have generously offered to donate a conservation easement to NRLT on their property. It will be NRLT’s first easement in Walden and our largest to date.
John describes it as “an exciting next step to complete what I’ve always wanted for my forest – to preserve its intact, confluent, natural beauty/resources in perpetuity. This is the gift of the commons that Katharine and I want to preserve for both human and animal neighbors in the North Woods, long past our brief lives.”
The conservation easement is set for closing in 2022.
Good Neighbors Make Good “Fences”
by Laurie Gullion
A rainy hike on a remote conserved property in late October requires a certain level of preparation. Warm clothes and snacks, hunter orange vest. Check. First aid kit. Packed. Map and compass. Got ‘em. Recently I hiked into a forested 97-acre parcel in Lowell with owner Allison Van Akkeran and her husband Adrian Owen for an annual easement monitoring visit. The property sits on the southeastern side of the Lowell Mountains, inaccessible by vehicle and a haven for moose, deer, fisher, and more.
In 2015 Allison established a conservation easement on 87 acres with Northern Rivers Land Trust. The NRLT welcomed the easement because of our long-time interest in the conservation values within the Lamphear Brook watershed in Lowell and Albany. The Van Akkeren landscape with its 15- to 60-degree slopes contains cliffs, brooks, and a hardwood forest dominated by sugar maple. And, on the rainy day we visited, a lot of water! It was going to be a wet hike.
Our intent was to check boundaries and freshen flagging, since in the past year a new abutter had purchased parcels that surround the Van Akkeran property on three sides. Monitoring a conserved property usually happens in the fall after trees have shed their leaves, allowing greater visibility across the landscape. Some properties might require more frequent monitoring, particularly if public access is allowed or trespasser encroachment has been an issue. Clear boundary lines—with or without fences or stone walls--benefit both owners and abutters. More frequent visits might also be recommended in special situations where planned forestry cuts or construction of accessory buildings are allowed under the easement. Sometimes trustees become “the eyes and ears” for owners who are no longer able to hike parts of their property.
Access to the Van Akkeren property is from Shuteville Road in Albany, and we hiked until we reached the heavily eroded end of the Class IV road. A right of way allowed us to reach the southeastern property line, which marks the boundary between Albany and Lowell. Just inside the property line sits an old cellar hole with several apple trees in what was probably an open field but now features regenerated woods. A 1903 deed calls this property the “Edward Watson farm”, according to the forest management plan for the parcel.
We headed south along the boundary and found our starting point--the nearest corner pin. From there Adrian ran the survey map, while Allison and I took compass bearings from him to walk a rectangular “box” across the forested landscape. We reached approximately 1,700 feet, just under the first cliff bands on the property, and spotted moose tracks as we traversed to the farthest boundary. Eventually we returned along a brook and an old skid road, intermittently flagging trees and corners as we hiked.
The result: a great hike, wet feet, a landscape in accordance with its forest management plan, a completed easement monitoring report, and an intent by Allison and Adrian to continue flagging their boundaries more completely in the coming year.
Proposed Wolcott Community Forest
by Kate Wanner, Trust for Public Land
space and nature are not just a nicety – they are a necessity. As we endured the health and economic challenges brought on by a pandemic, the outdoors became a lifeline. All of our public lands and trails saw dramatic upticks in usage from people seeking exercise, safe social connections, and the restorative effects of nature. Schools, especially, have tried to increase utilization of outdoor spaces to reduce risk of transmission of COVID. Outdoor education has been proven to promote focus, reduce symptoms of attention deficit disorder, boost student mental health, improve educational outcomes and child development and increase test scores.
The Trust for Public Land, a national conservation organization with an office in Montpelier, has been exploring how outdoor spaces and nature near classrooms can be used as non-traditional learning spaces, where kids can access the benefits of nature, and learn about the world around them throughout the school day. After The Trust for Public Land (TPL) successfully created a new Community Forest adjacent to the Brewster-Pierce Elementary School in Huntington, Wolcott Elementary School Principal Matt Foster approached TPL to see if there were any similar opportunities in Wolcott. With support from the Select Board, TPL set out to find a property within walking distance of the village, the school and the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail that might serve as a good community forest. Luckily, Rhoda Bedell and Leon Whitcomb, the owner of a beautiful 307-acre property immediately south of the school (and long-time members of NRLT), were interested in selling their property to become a new Community Forest.
TPL is thrilled to partner with Northern Rivers Land Trust on this endeavor, with plans to convey a Conservation Easement to NRLT prior to conveying the property to the Town of Wolcott. The community recently voted 74% in favor of the acquisition, and the property is now under contract. TPL is attempting to fund the purchase price with a new innovative funding source: Water Infrastructure Sponsorship Program through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, in partnership with the City of Burlington. Associated costs, a management fund for the Town and a stewardship endowment for NRLT will be raised from foundations and private donors.
Currently, there are a few interior forest roads on the property that can be used for walking, skiing, snowshoeing, wildlife watching, and exploration. If successful in securing a grant from the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative, there is the opportunity to plan and construct a 5-mile network of multi-use trails on the property, by highly respected professional trail builders Sinuosity, from Morrisville. These trails would be maintained and managed by the new Wolcott Community Trails Committee. The property contains frontage on Elmore Brook which could have a nice swimming hole for the public. There is also a beautiful 9-acre open meadow on the property that could serve as a site for community gardens and community events like outdoor concerts.
Conservation of this property along Elmore Branch just upstream from the Lamoille River and the population center of Wolcott will support wildlife habitat, water quality and flood resiliency. According to Vermont Conservation Design, the property is within a Priority Interior Forest Block and within a Highest Priority Connectivity Block. The property provides a rich and diverse habitat for a multitude of species, and the proposed project will benefit many of the State Wildlife Action Plan’s wide-ranging and forest-dwelling Species of Greatest Conservation Need, such as moose, otter, and bobcat. The property also contains four uncommon natural communities: Alluvial Shrub Swamp, Lowland Spruce-Fir Forest, Northern Hardwood Seepage Forest, and two vernal pools. With elevation ranging from 700 feet along the Elmore Branch to 1,200 feet, the property allows species to move up the elevational gradient as the climate changes. In a state with much of our conserved lands at high elevations, protection of lower elevation forests like these is a priority.
Look forward to more updates as this project progresses, and if you live in Wolcott we encourage you to get directly involved. The Select board will soon be forming a Stewardship Committee to develop a Management Plan for the property, and the Wolcott Community Trails Committee will be getting ramped up shortly.
Use of Drones In Monitoring Conservation Easements
by Clive Gray
The Land Trust Alliance, the national umbrella organization that groups over a thousand U.S. land trusts including the NRLT, has recently featured use of modern technology in monitoring conservation easements (CEs). Primary among these tools is the use of drones.
Many CEs cover large properties with irregular boundaries running through forest that land trust staff or volunteers have difficulty inspecting annually. A drone can photograph the entire property, including boundaries, showing any disturbance that violates the restrictions in the easement agreement, including encroachment by adjoining landowners.
In October 2021 the NRLT asked Kyle Gray of Greensboro, who has worked with drones for several years, to photograph one of our conserved properties. Kyle produced a series of photos on which he was able to trace the property’s boundary. See adjacent image.
NRLT will share drone-produced images with landowners who welcome this approach to monitoring their CEs. However some landowners may not approve. NRLT will consult with its clients and only use a drone where the landowner agrees.