08/30/12 by admin | Uncategorized | No Comments »
We’re thrilled to learn that Elise Tillinghast will become the new Executive Director of Northern Woodlands. Elise has been a UVLT member since 2005. She and her family live on conserved land in Thetford which they purchased from easement donor Martha Wiencke in 2006. The Tillinghasts have shared photos and stories of this place and hosted nature walks at their Strafford sugarbush.
The mission of the Center for Northern Woodlands Education is to advance a culture of forest stewardship in the Northeast and to increase understanding of and appreciation for the natural wonders, economic productivity and ecological integrity of the region’s forests.
Congratulations Elise! Read the story at:
http://northernwoodlands.org/about/news/entry/northern-woodlands-welcomes-new-executive-director .
08/30/12 by admin | Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Morning Commute by Sara Cavin, Project Manager
Early on, a tawny form paused in the road,
Her big ears and eyes taking me in;
A smaller version of the same, this one with spots, followed her across.
Picking up their pace, the pair bounded
Halfway into the field,
Bending toward the Ompomp.
Cresting a hill, a tiny orange body –
This one luckier than most that venture where tires tread –
Balances delicately on amphibian toes
Before being gently guided into the roadside weeds.
Mourning doves flush into the trees
On twittering wings.
Sharing “Good morning’s” with a gentleman
Collecting the paper,
I continue on, as the road descends.
The flock of Jacobs stays bedded down
In the dew;
Their quiet repose will balance
The determined grazing of the afternoon.
A pickup passes;
We two travelers exchange the few-fingered wave
As is the classy manner
On rural roads.
Into the fog, the bit of chill gains
As I reach the steam source, the River;
The mirage of the mist
Waved away by a single scull’s blades.
I find the bleary-eyed H Croo,
Adding bodies to the parade on Ledyard Bridge;
Surely weary, but they are welcoming
This morning, with smiles.
Weaving ever-cautiously through town,
I reach the office above Mink Brook.
Ready to settle in to the day,
I just have to reflect on the neighbors I saw on the way.
Oh, nice, Pete rode in too!
And he has left just enough coffee
In the pot that Amber made,
So I can pour a mug and warm my tingling fingers.
Enjoy.
08/09/12 by admin | Uncategorized | No Comments »
On a sunny day in August, Alice and Larry Allen were finally able to put their signatures on a conservation easement protecting their 62 acre dairy farm. This moment marked the end of a 12+ year journey to protect their farm. The Al-Len Farm in Newbury (with about 1.2 acres in Ryegate) is now protected with a conservation easement that provides a public trail and buffer along 5,800 feet of frontage on the Wells River.
The trail was a cooperative effort between the landowners (Alice & Laurance), the Newbury Conservation Commission, the Blue Mountain Union School, and the Blue Mountain Grange to develop an outdoor nature study area. The trail is also now part of the “Connecticut River Birding Trail.”
The Al-len Farm has been a certified organic dairy farm since 2006 with the Northeast Organic Farmers Association of Vermont (NOFA VT). Now that their farm is protected, the Allen’s beautiful organic dairy farm is being sold to a younger generation of dairy farmers who intend to keep up the same excellent stewardship practices the Allens have kept for years.
Thanks to VHCB and the CT River Mitigation and Enhancement Fund for grants which provided aid to complete this project.
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