The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Vermont has recently funded multiple conservation projects through the Vermont Biodiversity Protection Fund (VBPF), including land in two Windham County towns.
The $387,250 from TNC Vermont has helped make $3 million available from other sources to protect 2,163 acres in Athens, Marlboro, Fairfield, Fletcher, Bakersfield, and Thetford.
All of the conserved land will be open to the public.
VBPF funding will support expansion of the Athens Community Forest. Once protected, the land will be managed by Bull Creek Common Lands, whose board chair, Hannah Regier, described the property as a “small but wildly diverse addition to the Athens Community Forest.”
In Marlboro, the Winter Wren Nature Preserve will emerge on land long owned by the Ames family. The Ames children wanted to conserve this 531-acre parcel of land in memory of their father, Del Ames.
This land acts as the headwaters to the Green River and its tributaries, with abundant wetlands that provide ecosystem benefits and critical habitat for wildlife.
TNC Vermont called it an “important linkage to the Green Mountain National Forest” and said it will provide public access for outdoor education and recreation, including snowshoeing, backcountry skiing, and hunting.
For more information on the Vermont Biodiversity Protection Fund, visit bit.ly/875-tnc.
This Town and Village item was submitted to The Commons.