By Lisa Loomis
The Trust for Public Land is purchasing a 2,085-acre parcel of land in Duxbury which will be given to the state to be added to the Camel's Hump State Forest.
The parcel is known as the Dowsville Headwaters and it runs from approximately Duxbury- Fayston town line (north of Sharpshooter Road) north into Duxbury including large high-elevation sections of land off Dowsville Road and Ward Hill. It abuts Camel's Hump State Forest.
The Trust for Public Land (TPL) will pay fair market value for the property, which is owned by Forecastle Timber Company, Wisconsin. That land had originally been held by Ward Lumber and later Keith VanBuskirk and American Ventures.
TPL project manager Kate Wanner said the project is funded through the federal Forest Legacy Program and that when President Obama signed the 2015 budget bill last week, it included the $2.5 million request for this parcel.
The land is currently being appraised to determine fair market value. The conservation project has been under way for over a year with the TPL working with Duxbury, the state of Vermont and others to make it happen. When the land is removed from Duxbury's tax rolls, the town will receive payment from the state's Payment in Lieu of Taxes program (PILOT).
While funding for the purchase has been allocated, the TPL still needs to raise approximately $65,000 to complete the purchase. Local fundraising efforts are under way, according to Wanner.
The parcel is heavily used for recreation purposes including by mountain bikers, hikers, backcountry skiers, snowmobilers, hunters and horseback riders and others. The land includes seven miles of trails and is visible from Camel's Hump, the Long Trail and the Mad River Scenic Byway.
"The Dowsville Headwaters will play an important role as wildlife and vegetation adapt to a changing climate. Many species depend on large, contiguous blocks of forest, which are increasingly rare in this region as development has spread outward from town centers and ski resorts. Protection of this land will safeguard habitat for species of concern, including Bicknell's thrush, black bear, bobcat, ruffed grouse and wild brook trout," Wanner explained.
"The land's northern hardwood and spruce-fir forests have been actively managed for more than a century and provide excellent opportunities for continued forest management, including the enhancement of wildlife habitat. Protecting 8.2 miles of headwater streams and 142 riparian acres will improve water quality and enhance flood resiliency in the Winooski River Watershed and Lake Champlain Basin, a high priority for the state of Vermont," Wanner noted.
"We are so thankful for the local and regional support for this project, as well as the support we've received from our federal delegation, especially Senator Leahy. Senator Leahy led the effort to create the federal Forest Legacy Program in 1992 and his strong support of it over the last 20 years has helped insure it hasn't disappeared from the federal budget in tough budget years," Wanner said.
The project has support from local, regional and state organizations, including the Duxbury Select Board, Duxbury Planning Commission, Duxbury Land Trust, Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission, Washington County Forester, Catamount Trail Association, Vermont Backcountry Alliance, Friends of the Mad River, Friends of the Winooski, Green Mountain Club, VAST, Vermont Center for Ecostudies, Vermont Natural Resources Council, Watershed Management Division of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, Central Vermont Trout Unlimited, Audubon Vermont and Vermont Natural Resources Council.
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