Bald Mountain Nature Preserve Protected!

Earlier this year the Lake Champlain Land Trust accepted a donated Forever Wild Conservation Easement on 1,369 acres in West Haven, Vermont.  The conservation easement includes nearly 3,500 feet of Lake Champlain shoreline along an area referred to as the "Drowned Lands"- an area ideal for canoeing, kayaking, and fishing.

The Bald Mountain Nature Preserve is one of the most important terrestrial biodiversity sites along Lake Champlain...

containing at least six different natural communities including Dry Oak-Hickory-Hophornbeam Forest, Talus Slope, Deep Bulrush Marsh and Silver Maple-Sensitive Fern Riverine Floodplain Forest. These unique habitats harbor hundreds of common species as well as the state endangered eastern timber rattlesnake, five-lined skink, and at least ten rare plants.   In addition, the easement covers more than two miles of shoreline along the Poultney River. The Poultney River boasts a large variety of freshwater species including rare species such as the channel darter and the fragile papershell mussel.  Two public access hiking trails traverse portions of the larger Helen W. Buckner Memorial Preserve at Bald Mountain, a largely contiguous 3,776 acre block of conserved land. Visitors hiking in the preserve can find panoramic views of Lake Champlain, the Adirondacks, the Green Mountains, and the Taconics.

The easement covers five parcels managed and previously purchased by The Nature Conservancy (TNC). The Lake Champlain Land Trust holds the permanent conservation easement and will act as easement steward and monitor. This conservation project was made possible thanks to TNC and generous funding from the Sweet Water Trust and our supporters.  Beth Montuori Rowles, Chair of the Lake Champlain Land Trust Board of Trustees, noted that "The Bald Mountain project represents the best of conservation partnerships." If you are interested in learning more about future volunteering opportunities at Bald Mountain eradicating invasive species or marking property boundaries, please contact at our office at (802) 862-4150 or email us at info@lclt.org. Thank you for your support!