On Thursday, July 11, the Duxbury Planning Commission voted unanimously to send a letter in support of the Trust for Public Land's application for funds to purchase the Dowsville Headwaters parcel to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Legacy Program.
The 2,085-acre parcel of land is located in South Duxbury and adjacent to Camel's Hump State Park. It is valued at $1.8 million. The land was heavily logged in the 1990s but is currently undeveloped and used for recreation, including snowmobiling, skiing, snowshoeing, mountain biking and walking.
If the purchase goes through, ownership of the Dowsville Headwaters parcel will be transferred from the town to the state, as part of Camel's Hump State Park. An economic analysis shows that town tax receipts will not decrease as a result of state ownership.
The Trust for Public Land is a national nonprofit that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, gardens, historic sites, rural lands and other natural places. As of 2013, the trust has protected more than 53,000 acres throughout Vermont, particularly in the Green Mountains and the Connecticut River watershed.
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