The AVCC is proud to announce the launch of our Town Forest Stories webinar series, which will cover all aspects of community-owned forestland – from acquisition and financing to long-term stewardship – through the lens of conservation commissions. In addition to their myriad environmental benefits, including wildlife habitat, water quality and flood resiliency, town forests provide educational and recreational opportunities to residents and visitors alike.
Our series will start on Wednesday, August 19th, with an exploration into two different acquisition stories. Then we will hear from a community that adopted a new forest management plan for its recently expanded town forest. In our final installment, town commissions will discuss the work they’ve done in partnership with local trails groups. We are pleased to feature perspectives from both local conservation commission members and the natural resource professionals they’ve partnered with. The presentations will be followed by Q&A and panel discussion, and we encourage other conservation commission members to bring their questions.
Acquisitions and Partnerships
Wednesday, August 19th at 4:00 pm
↪ Bob Heiser (Vermont Land Trust) and Jaime Schulte (Monkton CC) spoke about the establishment of Monkton Town Forest.
↪ Hannah Redmon (Trust for Public Land) and Rachel Kane / Joe Nudell (Hardwick CC) discussed the recent expansion of Buffalo Mountain Town Forest in Hardwick.
MONKTON TOWN FOREST (Monkton)
In November 2024, the Town of Monkton purchased 450 acres along the Bristol town line to establish its new town forest. The land is now conserved in perpetuity through the Vermont Land Trust – with support from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board – and is open to the public for outdoor education and recreation. The acquisition followed a multi-year campaign to raise over $1.1 million to buy the property and establish a management fund for its long-term stewardship. VLT and the town secured grants from VHCB and the Forest Service’s Community Forest and Open Space Programs, used town ARPA funds and $45,000 from the Monkton Agricultural and Natural Area Fund, and received additional contributions and grants from the Davis Conservation Foundation, NorthCountry Federal Credit Union, and community members to create this new forest.
You can read more about the establishment of the Monkton Town Forest in this November 2024 press release from VLT. The parcel is permanently protected under a conservation easement through VLT with support from VHCB. The long-term management plan for the Monkton Town Forest was officially adopted in April 2025.
BUFFALO MOUNTAIN TOWN FOREST (Hardwick)
Earlier this year, voters in the Town of Hardwick approved a $25,000 contribution towards the purchase of a 329-acre addition to their Buffalo Mountain Town Forest. Managed by the Trust for Public Land (TPL), in partnership with the Hardwick Conservation Commission and the Northern Rivers Land Trust, the project has also secured financial commitments for the acquisition from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB), The Nature Conservancy Vermont, and several family foundations. TPL holds an option agreement with the landowners to purchase the land for $530,000, and, once the Town Forest Management Plan is completed, the parcel could be conveyed to town ownership later this year. The new town forest will be subject to a conservation easement which will protect wildlife habitat, public access, water quality, and cultural resources in perpetuity.
More information on the Buffalo Mountain Town Forest Expansion can be found on this webpage on the Trust for Public Land website. TPL and Northern Rivers Land Trust put together a frequently asked questions document to keep residents informed of the latest developments
Stewardship and Planning
Tuesday, August 25th at 4:00 pm
↪ Tessa McGann (Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation), Jennifer Boucher (Pownal Parks and Rec) and Nate Fowle (Pownal CC) will explore forest management planning in the Town of Pownal.
Click here to view the presentation slides.
POWNAL TOWN FOREST (Pownal)
In September 2023, the Town of Pownal added 300 acres and a right of way corridor to its town forest, also known as the Strobridge Recreation Area, restoring community access that was lost when tropical storm Irene washed away a road back in 2011. This acquisition was a collaboration between Pownal, the Vermont Land Trust (VLT), the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB), and the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative (VOREC). In January, after 18 months of visioning workshops and meetings, focus groups, community surveys, tabling, and one-on-one discussions. the Pownal Conservation Commission shared a draft Integrated Management Plan with the public. Developed in partnership with Tessa McGann, county forester with the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation, the plan outlines long-term conservation, recreation, and timber management for the now 1,000-acre property. You can read the ten-year plan Tessa prepared here. An integrated management plan was officially adopted by the Pownal Selectboard and the Vermont Land Trust in June 2026. Further stewardship efforts will benefit from this interactive mapping tool and other maps of the town forest.
The Town of Pownal partnered with undergraduates from Williams College to develop an outreach plan to gather feedback and input from residents about their vision for the newly expanded parcel. The students – Meaghan Boehm, Brodie Leo, and Yaroslava Yashchuk – drew inspiration from the outreach work performed by the Monkton Town Forest Committee years earlier. Their report and presentation identified several focus areas for the town to consider when writing the new forest management plan.
Recreating in our Town Forests
Thursday, September 10th at 12:00 pm
Register here!
↪ Russell Hirschler (Upper Valley Trails Alliance) and Nancy Jones (Bradford CC) will examine the development and maintenance of recreational trails at Wright’s Mountain
↪ Christine Armiger / Hayden Smith (Rockingham CC) and Cole Predom (Windham County Trails Association) will report on the commission’s partnerships with Vermont Academy Mountain Biking and the Windham County Trails Alliance
The AVCC is making a concerted effort to identify and document local conservation “Success Stories” across Vermont. We hope these case studies inspire other CC volunteers and serve as a reference for future projects. If you would like to contribute to this archive, please use this Google Form to let us know about your work, or email the Board directly at info@vtconservation.org if you’d like to be featured in a future webinar.