Protection of Palmer Woodlands Completed
Thanks to a successful fundraising campaign, the Upper Valley Land Trust has permanently protected the 472-acre Palmer Woodlands on Potato Hill in North Thetford. Over 100 individuals and families from Thetford and surrounding towns contributed to the effort, raising the $35,000 required to match a grant of $180,000 from the Vermont Agency of Transportation. The Thetford Conservation Commission was a vital partner in the project, encouraging donations and appropriating $3000 from its own funds.

The conservation of this large forested parcel that offers public access completes an effort to preserve one of Thetford’s most historic properties, begun over a decade ago. In 1994, Arthur and Arlene Palmer worked with the Upper Valley Land Trust to protect 125 acres of farmland surrounding their family farmstead just north of the village of North Thetford. The scenic Palmer property has over a mile of frontage on the Connecticut River, on Route 5, and on I-91. The farm has been in Arthur Palmer’s family since his ancestor Timothy Bartholemew bought the land in 1769, moving north from Connecticut to settle there in 1772. Arthur was born on the farm, and took it over from his father in 1969.

The newly-conserved woodlands lie on the east-facing slopes above the farm, separated by the I-91 corridor. The two tracts were once contiguous. Typical of the original farms laid out along the Connecticut River, the Palmer Farm extended westward from the river, thus including a diversity of acreage – both fertile riverfront fields and rockier high ground, which was used as pasture or woodlands. Today, the Palmers manage the forest for sustainable production of timber.

The land rises steeply from the west side of the highway to gentler terrain at the property’s higher elevations. There, occasional ledgy outcrops provide dramatic views east across the Connecticut River valley. Two streams flow across the property, dropping through a series of scenic pools and falls. The larger of these, Roaring Brook, carves a prominent cleft into the hillside.

A network of woods roads run through the property from Potato Hill Road, providing opportunities for low-impact recreation such as hiking and skiing. The conservation agreement ensures that the Palmers’ long-standing tradition of keeping their land open to the public will continue in the future.

"The Palmer Woodlands is part of a large undeveloped region of Thetford that is still actively used by wildlife,” explains Jennifer Davey, Chair of the Thetford Conservation Commission. “One of the Conservation Commission’s main responsibilities is to assess and protect the Town's natural resources, and the conservation of this land is a great step forward. Our goal of protecting contiguous properties to create large blocks of conservation land will only be successful with the help of land stewards like Arthur and Arlene, and the Thetford Conservation Commission is honored to have contributed to this effort."

Our thanks to all who
contributed to the protection of
the Palmer Woodlands!