Acquisition project grows by 1,000 acres
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By Josh O'Gorman STAFF WRITER - Published: November 6, 2009
Efforts to conserve 1,000 acres abutting the Appalachian Trail are one step closer to success, thanks to $625,000 in federal funds.
The money comes from a $9.8 million congressional appropriation for projects in Tennessee, North Carolina, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, where the money will be put toward a $1.75 million effort to purchase land along the Appalachian Trail in Barnard and Bridgewater.
The effort will put the land, known as the Chateauguay-No Town property, in the hands of the National Park Service, and Peter Gregory, executive director of the Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Planning Commission, was pleased by the news of the federal funds.
"We're just very pleased to help the towns and this is one step along the trail, so to speak, toward preserving this land for future generations," said Gregory, whose organization is one of many working to help preserve the land.
The 1,000 acres consists of four parcels of land straddling 1.5 miles of a remote stretch of the trail that is used by about 1,500 hikers annually.
"From a hiker's perspective, it's beautiful back country and we're happy to see it stay that way," said Ben Rose, executive director of the Green Mountain Club, which maintains that stretch of the Appalachian Trail and is also a partner in the conservation effort.
The recent effort is a much larger initiative to preserve 55,000 acres of undeveloped land in Barnard, Bridgewater, Killington and Stockbridge. Since 1996, the Chateauguay-No Town Conservation Project, a cooperative effort among the four towns, has conserved 16,200 acres.
"This has been a long-term project for us and this is one of the major pieces," said project Chairman Jerry Fredrickson of Barnard.
The group has already received $500,000 from a private donor toward the purchase of land along the Appalachian Trail, and the recent award leaves them $625,000 shy of their $1.75 million goal.
In addition to recreation opportunities, the land is also important for wildlife management, according to the nonprofit Appalachian Trail Conservancy, because it is a designated black bear reproduction area and also home to numerous bobcat dens.
josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com
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