04/20/09 by admin | UVLT Events | No Comments »
Connecticut River from Silverweed Seep Preserve© Eric Aldrich/TNC
04/15/09 by admin | Uncategorized | No Comments »
Visit UVLT’s table at this year’s Flavors of the Valley, hosted by Vital Communities and Valley Food & Farm.
Tuesday April 21st, 2-7pm
$7/person (kids 6 and under free)
Hartford High School Gym, White River Junction, VT
Celebrate the food and farms of our region while enjoying the sights, smells and tastes of over 60 diverse vendors. Share a wholesome and hopeful experience of gathering with family, friends and the larger community. Everyone is welcome!
- Meet farmers and chefs
- Savor samples
- Buy local foods (Bring a cooler and shopping bags!)
- Get your free 2009 Valley Food & Farm Guide
- Help to reduce waste––bring your own plate, fork & cup!
Visit http://www.vitalcommunities.org/ for more information.
04/07/09 by admin | UVLT Events | No Comments »
Two Vermonters and two New Hampshirites are cycling 350 miles from Norwich, Vermont to Canton, New York to speak about climate-safe lifestyles in towns along the way. On Thursday, April 9th from 5-6:30 pm, the Upper Valley Food Coop is hosting Jim Merkel, author of Radical Simplicity: Small Footprints on a Finite Earth and his fellow cyclers for their presentation at the Coop at 193 North Main St. in White River Junction. They depart on April 9th from Norwich, Vermont and will speak at 11 towns en route to the North Country Sustainable Energy Fair. They bike 350 miles to broadcast the message of leading climate scientist, Dr. James Hansen: “If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted… CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 parts per million to at most 350 ppm.”
At the interactive Cycling for a Sustainable Future Kick-off event, participants become ‘visionaries’ of alternative futures and presenters offer footprint reducing examples. This event celebrates the regions innovative organizations and businesses that are leading the way. You’re encouraged to cycle to the Co-op, enjoy free local food and hear from local leaders. Jim Merkel states, “This event offers a radical stimulus package where practical, artful, scientifically sound lifestyle steps accumulate. From vision to action, witness the birth of a new culture where low-impact becomes ‘default.’”
Team members will also document exciting “Transition Town” initiatives on campuses, farms, and towns and relay them on the Cycling for a Sustainable Future blog.
Since 1996 the Cycling for a Sustainable Future Tours have covered over 17,000 miles. This year’s tour members are: Jim Merkel, Susan Cutting, S. Tyler Durham and Ross Scatchard. They thank the wind at their backs generated by their sponsors: the Vermont Chapter of the Sierra Club, Ibex, D Acres, The Global Living Project and the Upper Valley Food Coop.
For more information about the event, contact Kye Cochran at (802) 295-5804 or Jim Merkel at glp@vtusa.com or (802) 649-2508
http://cyclingforasustainablefuture.blogspot.com/.
Also, join the tour members and UVLT on Saturday, April 11th, 10 – 11:30am at the Mountain School dining hall in Vershire, VT for “Real World Sustainability”. A lunchtime conversation will follow. Bring a bag lunch or a donation for food. Pump up those bike tires, cycle to the event and join the team on their way out of town toward Montpelier after lunch, (802) 439-5324.
03/17/09 by admin | UVLT Events | No Comments »
Do you like hiking off-trail? Do you enjoy visiting beautiful places?
Join the Upper Valley Land Trust’s team of volunteer easement stewards to monitor conserved properties all over the Upper Valley!
Stewardship volunteering involves meeting landowners of conserved land, hiking off-trail to find property boundaries with a map and compass, and recording what you see as you become our eyes and ears on permanently protected land.
This training includes an indoor session with general easement information and instruction on using a map and compass; then we will venture outside for hands-on field practice. For more information, please contact UVLT at (603) 643-6626 or email
Monica.Erhart@uvlt.org.When: April 18, 2009, 8:30am – 2:30pm
Where: Upper Valley Land Trust, 19 Buck Road, Hanover, NH 03755
03/10/09 by admin | UVLT Events | 4 Comments »
We are going to begin having planning meetings for April Earth Day events. If you would like to participate in these meetings, please email noradoyle-burr@uvlt.org with times and days of the week that might work for you.
Please see the below list and provide us with your suggestions in the comment section, or by emailing
noradoyle-burr@uvlt.org or calling (603) 643-6626 ext. 102. We can’t do all of these activities. Help us to prioritize events that will be relevant and engaging for your communities.
Books and displays at libraries—(See the
suggested list) UVLT can help to contact local librarians to look for display space, or Conservation Commissioners are welcome to take on this task.
BioblitzGamesConservation themed art exhibits to go in library, post office, and store windows—this could involve a partnership with local art teachers.
Hikes to the “highest points” in Towns: Wright’s Mountain, Tucker Mountain, Sawyer Ledges; Pinnacle, etc.
Slide show or film festival, for example: “15 second short films on I-phones and digital cameras that could be put onto various computer screens for a village show. The kids can make up many kinds of skits to do with nature, green-up, trees or what-have-you, and act/edit, and then have them playing at an open house. For that matter, if there’s a flurry of them, local TV stations may be willing to put a few on TV if asked.” (Peggy Willey, West Fairlee)
Music and/or dancing—Ideas for venues, or musicians?
Potluck dinner(s)—Ideas for venues?
Speaker series or a “big name”—Ideas for relevant topics, speakers, or venues?
Technical training like wetlands, shore land protection, climate change, energy, recycling—Ideas for speakers, venues, topics?
Displays of Posters or stories crafted by Upper Valley youthsReading series – local authors—suggestions?
Stories/testimony from landowners and/or old-timers—suggestions?
Innovative Planning Dialogue—we could invite planners from the Upper Valley that have been involved in creative zoning
Easement Monitor Training—UVLT will be training new conservation easement monitor volunteers.
Spring Farm Tour—if there is interest, UVLT could arrange a day to tour several local farms. Families would be welcome.
Photographing Nature WorkshopsTrail Work DaysRelevant writing prompts for middle school & high school students
02/27/09 by admin | New Conservation Projects | 1 Comment »
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BATH, NH—Lackie Farm, a unique riverfront property, will be protected forever from future development. The purchase of a conservation easement by the Upper Valley Land Trust (UVLT) on the 171 acre parcel was made possible through the support of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation’s Mitigation and Enhancement Fund, with further assistance from the Town of Bath.
The property has been owned by the Lackie family for over 60 years. Cecile Lackie said, “I remember when I first heard about the possibility of conserving the land; I felt a real sense of relief knowing that it could stay in the family.” The eight Lackie siblings were able to collaborate throughout the conservation process and reach a successful outcome. It remains a family gathering place for 4th of July and Christmas celebrations that feature bonfires and snowmobiling. Immediately following the land’s conservation, Steve Lackie became the sole owner of the property. He says, “It’s nice to keep the property open, as more and more other land in the area becomes developed.”
Situated near the confluence of the Ammonoosuc and Connecticut Rivers, the Lackie Farm lies just north of the downtown area of Woodsville. The farm supported a dairy until 1996; currently, Steve Lackie makes hay, which he sells to local farmers, with grass grown on the important agriculture soils along the river. The land includes two islands with floodplain forests in the Connecticut River which “afford excellent stopover habitat and some nesting habitat for migratory songbirds,” according to Barry Parrish, Refuge Manager of the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge. The forested hillside rises from the farmland along Route 135 to a peak approximately 1,216 feet in elevation and is visible for miles around.
The protection of the Lackie Farm preserves scenic views along the Connecticut River National Scenic Byway and of Woodsville from “The Lookout,” a ridgetop clearing that the Lackies have kept open to the public. Steve Lackie says that the moderate hike up to “The Lookout” is well worth it for the view. The property’s significant river frontage (over 1 mile), includes unique islands, ledges, wetland areas, and seasonal streams within a stretch of the Connecticut River referred to as “The Narrows.” This is a popular location for fishermen and includes important habitat for wildlife. Conservation of the wooded slopes prevents development that could degrade unique wildlife habitat in an ecologically important region of the Connecticut River watershed.
According to the Town’s Selectmen, “The Town of Bath deeply appreciates the commitment of the Lackie family to the memory of their parents, Rita R. Lackie and Harry Lackie, Jr. and to the interests of the Town in preserving the Lackie Farmstead and its overlook of the unique Connecticut River frontage below the Narrows. This grant protects great scenic views, fabulous wildlife habitat, and plant communities of special concern. The Lackie Family Grant also allows the public to enjoy a beautiful property.”
Judy Tumosa of the Bath Conservation Commission, says of the Lackie’s conservation of their land: “They are protecting Connecticut River frontage, great scenic views, fabuous wildlife habitat, and plant communities of special concern. They are also allowing the public to be able to enjoy a beautiful property in perpituity. It is a great gift to the town of Bath.”
The permanent conservation of community-defining landscapes with historic and cultural significance as found in the Lackie Farm is a valuable accomplishment that will ensure the lasting legacy of the region’s traditional agricultural way of life, and will permanently protect scenic resources that have long inspired people in the Bath area.
02/26/09 by admin | Other UVLT News | No Comments »
Applications are being accepted now! Visit our Jobs & Internships page or contact Peter Helm, Vice President Stewardship, (603) 643-6626 ext. 104, or peter.helm@uvlt.org for more information.
02/18/09 by admin | Conservation Advocacy, UVLT Events | No Comments »
Governor Douglas has proposed significant cuts to the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board budget and a one-year freeze on conservation projects. With these potential cuts in mind, please join us for:
Vermont Housing & Conservation Coalition Legislative Day
Thursday, February 26th, 6am-4pm, State House, Montpelier
photo by Marie Charboneau
Conservation can’t wait! Please set aside February 26th as a day to come to Montpelier to talk and advocate on behalf of VHCB funding.
Join UVLT and its supporters on the western side of the Connecticut River as we journey to Vermont’s capitol to speak out in favor of funding for new conservation projects. We’ll meet at 6am at UVLT’s office, 19 Buck Road, Hanover, for coffee and snacks before departing at 6:15am for Montpelier. UVLT hopes to fill a 15-seat van with staff, members, and trustees. It promises to be a fun, informative trip! UVLT will provide materials for background on the issues to be addressed. Travelers can plan to be back in Hanover by 4pm. View a draft of the day’s schedule.
Find out more at http://www.uvlt.org/. Call us at (603) 643-6626 or email noradoyle-burr@uvlt.org for more information.
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Connecticut River from Silverweed Seep Preserve© Eric Aldrich/TNC
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