The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation (FPR) has added 62 acres to Camel’s Hump State Park in Duxbury through the Ridley Brook Conservation Project.
“The Ridley Brook Conservation Project benefits Vermont in so many ways," said Gannon Osborn, and conservation program manager at FPR. "By protecting this land, we're safeguarding clean water, public access, wildlife habitat, and the natural beauty that makes our state special."
The project aligns with the goals of Vermont’s Community Resilience and Biodiversity Protection Act by protecting biodiversity and the many co-benefits that come with it. Notedly, it supports flood resilience and water quality in the Winooski River watershed by slowing down, absorbing, and filtering future flood events.
The Ridley Brook Conservation Project is also part of a priority connectivity block, helping link the northern Green Mountains and Canada to the southern Green Mountains and the Berkshires. This corridor is important for the north-south movement of moose, bear, and other large mammals along the spine of the Green Mountains.
“We are thrilled with the outcome of the Ridley Brook Conservation Project,” said Dan Cardozo of the Duxbury Land Trust. “This effort protects access to the Winooski River and Ridley Brook, a steep canyon-like area, which provides cool high-elevation waters for brook trout.”
Orchestrated by a coalition, including FPR, the Duxbury Land Trust, the Green Mountain Club, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, and the Vermont River Conservancy, the Ridley Brook Conservation Project represents a collaboration to preserve Vermont’s beauty and ecological resilience.
Funding for the conservation project came from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, the federal Forest Legacy Program, and the Flood Resilient Communities Fund, as well as a donation of property by the Green Mountain Club.
