JAMAICA, Vt. – Founded in 2002, the Northeast Wilderness Trust (NEWT), based in Montpelier, which five months ago purchased nearly 600 acres on College Hill in Jamaica for conservation, is now progressing toward also purchasing the adjacent, 170-acre Chickadee Addition, a subdivided parcel along a ridgeline labeled as a “highest priority habitat” by Vermont Conservation Design.
It is a rare occurrence when land that is abutting an already-existing conservation area becomes available for purchase, but it is something on which the NEWT conservation team keeps a close watch. The purchase expands upon the growing sections of conserved land between Jamaica State Park, the Winhall Town Forest, and the Green Mountain National Forest.
The Chickadee Addition parcel had already been divided into four lots, with a driveway leading up to the peak of the property, before the trust became involved in purchasing and permanently protecting the land. The property is marked as highest priority due to its ridgeline positioning, its interior forest conditions, and its high connectivity value.
The property is rich with wildlife habitat – forested wetlands, northern hardwoods, and low-to-ground forage such as berry bushes and other roughage. The land is also tracked and mapped by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department for the habitat of the northern long-eared and tricolored bats, two endangered species that depend on specifically larger, older roost trees that will become more plentiful as the protected wilderness matures.
There is also a beaver-inhabited wetland situated between the existing College Hill and the new Chickadee Addition, which feeds a small stream flowing into Ball Mountain Brook and then into the West River. This new purchase will mean that conserved land encompasses nearly the stream’s entire watershed.
The goal and approach of NEWT is to preserve and restore forever-wild landscapes, giving wilderness the freedom to evolve in its own way. The wildlands it safeguards encompass more than 116,000 acres that are now fully protected from future development, prioritizing wildlife habitat and maintaining ecological processes.
The protected land will be allowed to rewild and, over time, develop the complex structures of the old forest, which is becoming increasingly rare in Vermont. The existing College Hill Sanctuary parcel has not been logged in nearly 100 years, while the Chickadee Addition, by contrast, shows signs of more recent view-clearing of trees. This contrast in habitat makes the long-term protection of the land even more important.
In July, NEWT Ecology Director Shelby Perry led a guided walk through the College Hill Sanctuary to celebrate the first birthday of the wilderness sanctuary, as the group explored some of the sanctuary’s oldest forest habitats while Perry shared insights into the ecology of the forests and wetlands.
The project also coincides with Vermont’s Act 59, striving to conserve at least 30% of the state’s land by 2030. Currently, 89% of the goal has been reached, as the Agency of Natural Resources investigates more private-land purchases for additional conservation.