Gile Ridge and Woody Adams Conservation Forest

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Gile Ridge and Woody Adams Conservation Forest Woody Adams Conservation Forest and the protecting the Norwich Town Forest on Gile Ridge From Gile Mountain, on a clear day Conservation one can see the highest summits in the Upper Valley and mountains far Benefits away -- Mount Ascutney, Killington • Water quality of Peak and the Green Mountains, Mount streams, seeps, and Cardigan, Smarts Mountain, Mount vernal pools in two Moosilauke and many of the White watersheds Mountains beyond. Along with access • Flood prevention in to amazing views, the forested slopes the upper reaches of a watershed that‘s had on Gile Ridge harbor many ecological previous significant features important for wildlife habitat, downstream flooding flood resilience and climate change • Forest contiguity and mitigation. Now we have an urgent ecosystem integrity opportunity to protect these. in a high priority upper reaches of a watershed that unfragmented forest Gile Ridge: Resources at Risk has experienced previous significant block The 186-acre Woody Adams tract downstream flooding. • Wildlife connectivity of sits between the Norwich Town Forest important North-South and the Town-owned property where A Conservation Solution and East-West wildlife the Fire Tower, one of the region’s When the Adams property was corridors most popular hiking destinations, is listed for sale, there was concern that • Climate change located. The Blue Ribbon Trail along the forest might be fragmented and resiliency by the ridge passes through the Woody protecting higher the trail experience degraded. elevation sites for Adams tract. The Upper Valley Land Trust shifting species All three parcels contain signficant (UVLT) and the Town of Norwich distributions high-elevation forest resources in the moved quickly to secure the property. • Climate change Acquisition of the Woody Adams mitigation via forest tract will more than double the Gile carbon sequestration and storage Ridge acreage in Town ownership. All three parcels will be protected • Permanent public with a conservation easement held access on existing “Blue Ribbon” trail by UVLT and the Vermont Housing and opportunity for a and Conservation Board. The total higher-elevation back- conserved acreage will be 290 acres. country Nordic ski and snowshoe loop We must raise $65,000 in private contributions to complete the transaction and protect this special YOU CAN HELP! area. Make your tax deductible The time to act is now! gift payable to: The property has been removed from the Upper Valley Land Trust real estate market for a limited time to 19 Buck Road Hanover, NH 03755 allow UVLT and the Town to raise the funds to buy and protect it. If we are Or make a secure online unable to secure the funding, we will contribution at: lose this opportunity. www.UVLT.org Above: Perennial stream and vernal pool located on the Adams Join UVLT and the Norwich property. The 186-acre parcel, to be named in honor of Tony Adam’s Conservation Commission father “Woody,” is centrally located in a 9500-acre forest block that is and say YES to resilient considered a “Priority Interior Forest Block” and a “Highest Priority forests, healthy watersheds Connectivity Block” by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. This forest block also contains Gile Mountain -- the highest peak in and protection of trail Norwich. access to Gile Mountain. Below, right: The acquisition of the Woody Adams forest and We’re 80% of the way to the conservation of the two parcels currently owned by the Town our fundraising goal! will protect existing trail access and user experience on the Blue Please join in the campaign to Ribbon Trail and a woods road across the Town Forest. The conservation easements will improve opportunities for sustainable raise the remaining 20%! forest management and stewardship of wildlife habitat and natural For more information contact: communities. Peg Merrens, Upper Valley Land Trust [email protected] Costs: Purchase price of Woody Adams Forest* 300,000 Legal and transaction costs to protect all three parcels 20,000 Endowment for easement enforcement 10,000 330,000 Funding: Vermont Housing and Conservation Board 125,000 Town of Norwich Conservation Fund 130,000 UVLT Restricted Funds 10,000 Campaign for Woody Adams Conservation Forest 65,000 330,000 *The appraised value of the Adams property is $510,000. The owner has agreed to sell it far below market value and contribute to the conservation of the Gile Ridge forever..
Recommended publications
  • The Geology of the Lyndonville Area, Vermont
    THE GEOLOGY OF THE LYNDONVILLE AREA, VERMONT By JOHN G. DENNIS VERMONT GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CHARLES G. DOLL, Stale Geologist Published by VERMONT DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MONTPELIER, VERMONT BULLETIN NO. 8 1956 Lake Willoughby, seen from its north shore. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ......................... 7 INTRODUCTION 8 Location 8 Geologic Setting ..................... 8 Previous Work ...................... 8 Purpose of Study ..................... 9 Method of Study 10 Acknowledgments . 11 Physiography ...................... 11 STRATIGRAPHY ....................... 16 Lithologic Descriptions .................. 16 Waits River Formation ................. 16 General Statement .................. 16 Distribution ..................... 16 Age 17 Lithological Detail .................. 17 Gile Mountain Formation ................ 19 General Statement .................. 19 Distribution ..................... 20 Lithologic Detail ................... 20 The Waits River /Gile Mountain Contact ........ 22 Age........................... 23 Preliminary Remarks .................. 23 Early Work ...................... 23 Richardson's Work in Eastern Vermont .......... 25 Recent Detailed Mapping in the Waits River Formation. 26 Detailed Work in Canada ................ 28 Relationships in the Connecticut River Valley, Vermont and New Hampshire ................... 30 Summary of Presently Held Opinions ........... 32 Discussion ....................... 32 Conclusions ...................... 33 STRUCTURE 34 Introduction and Structural Setting 34 Terminology ......................
    [Show full text]
  • Hikes with Views in the Upper Valley
    Hikes with views in the Upper Valley Introduction—All the suggested venues have the capacity to support a group of 15 people (including trip leaders) and four vehicles, maximum. All are dog friendly. Permission for group use comes from the contact entities listed for each hike. The hikes described are (with drive time from Hanover): 1. Enfield: Collette & Bicknell Trails (30 min) 2. Fairlee: Echo Mountain Trail (20 min) 3. Hanover: Moose Mountain South Peak (15 min) 4. Hanover: Moose Mountain South Ridge (20 min) 5. Lyme: Holts Ledge (25 min) 6. Lyme: Lambert Ridge Trail (30 min) 7. Norwich: Gile Mountain Tower (20 min) 8. Orford: Quinttown Road (35 min) 9. Orford: Eastman Ledges (35 min) 10. Plainfield: French’s Ledges (30 min) 11. Windsor: Brownsville Trail (30 min) 12. Windsor: Ascutney summit Loop (30 min to mountain toll road) Each is described, as follows: Name of hike Drive time from Hanover, NH Reward (with picture) Length (round-trip miles and elevation gained) Ease of use (clarity of markings, quality of footing) Website (unofficial; providing the best available information) Directions to trailhead (with Google maps link to approximate location) Suggested carpool meeting point (to minimize congestion at trailheads) Contact for venue Contacts Upper Valley Trails Alliance Compiler of suggested hikes: PO Box 1215 Stephen Flanders, member Norwich, VT 05055 Norwich Trails Committee (802) 649-9075 Norwich, Vermont [email protected] [email protected] Page 1 1. Enfield, NH Collette & Bicknell Trails Photos by Stephen Flanders, except where noted. Drive time from Hanover, NH: 30 minutes Reward: A shore-side view of Crystal Lake and aan opportunity for swimming.
    [Show full text]
  • Stratigraphy of the East Flank of the Green Mountain Anticlinorium, Southern Vermont
    University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository New England Intercollegiate Geological NEIGC Trips Excursion Collection 1-1-1972 Stratigraphy of the East Flank of the Green Mountain Anticlinorium, Southern Vermont Skehan, James W. Hepburn, J. Christopher Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/neigc_trips Recommended Citation Skehan, James W. and Hepburn, J. Christopher, "Stratigraphy of the East Flank of the Green Mountain Anticlinorium, Southern Vermont" (1972). NEIGC Trips. 160. https://scholars.unh.edu/neigc_trips/160 This Text is brought to you for free and open access by the New England Intercollegiate Geological Excursion Collection at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in NEIGC Trips by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 3 T rip B -l STRATIGRAPHY OF THE EAST FLANK OF THE GREEN MOUNTAIN ANTICLINORIUM, SOUTHERN VERMONT by James W. Skehan, S.J.* and J. Christopher Hepburn* INTRODUCTION The Green Mountain anticlinorium in southern Vermont has an exposed core of Precambrian gneisses overlain to the east and west by metamorphosed Paleozoic rocks. The rocks of the west limb of the anticlinorium are chiefly quartzites and carbonates of a miogeosynclinal sequence. The east limb of the anticlinorium consists of a eugeosynclinal sequence of schists and gneisses from (?) Cambrian through Lower Devonian age. The purpose of the present field trip is to examine the stratigraphy of these schists and gneisses. A roughly west-to-east section across portions of the Wilmington and Brattleboro quadrangles (Fig. 1) will be followed.
    [Show full text]
  • MINERAL COLLECTING in VERMONT by Raymond W. Crant
    MINERAL COLLECTING IN VERMONT by Raymond W. Crant Vermont Geological Survey, Charles C. Doll, State Geologist Department of Water Resources, Montpelier, Vermont SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO, 2 1968 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figures Page 1. Index Map of Vermont Mineral L()cIities . 3 38. Slate Quarry, Poultney ............................................. 31 2. Metaiimrphic Map of Vermont ................................. 4 .39. NI ap showing the location of the mineral area, Rouiid 3. Geo logic NI ap of Vernio i it ....................................... 7 Hill, Shrewshorv................................. ..................... 32 4. Topograpl ii NI a!) S y 0)1)0 Is ....................................... 10 40. Map showing the location of the Molybdenite Prospect 5. Map showing the location of the Vermont Kaolin Coin- (1) and Copperas Hill Mines (2), Cuttingsville .............32 paiiy Quarry (1) and Monkton Iron Ore Beds (2) ......... 14 41. Map showing the location of the Marble Quarry, Dorset 6. Map showing the location of the Huntley Quarry, Leices- Nit., South Danhv ..................................................... 33 terJunction ............................................................. 15 42. Map showing the location of the Devil's Den, Nit. Tahor 34 7. Calcite crystals from the Huntley Quarry, Leicester 43. Smoky Quartz crystal from Devil's Den, Mt. Tabor ...... .34 Junction (times 1.6) .................................................. 15 44. Map showing the location of the Roacicuts on Route 155, 8. Map showing the location of
    [Show full text]
  • Nulhegan Basin Division Habitat Management Plan
    U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge Nulhegan Basin Division Habitat Management Plan Table of Contents Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Finding of No Significant Impact ................................................................................................................. 6 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 10 1.1. Scope and Rationale .................................................................................................................... 10 1.2. Legal Mandates ........................................................................................................................... 10 1.3. Links to Other Plans .................................................................................................................... 11 Refuge Plans ..................................................................................................................... 11 Service’s Regional Plans and State Plans ......................................................................... 11 2. Background ......................................................................................................................................... 13 2.1. Refuge Location and General Description .................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • 4.PART-1.Pdf
    Part One The Physical Setting The Physical Setting s naturalists, land managers, and hikers, we constantly look for patterns in the landscape that help us make sense of the natural world. Of the things A that create patterns of natural community distribution, four are especially important and far reaching. The nature of the bedrock that underlies Vermont has a major influence on the topography of the land, the chemistry of the soils, and the distribution of particular plants, especially when the bedrock is near the surface. The surficial deposits (the gravels, sands, silts, and clays that were laid down during and after the Pleistocene glaciation) can completely mask the effect of underlying bedrock where these deposits are thick. Climate affects natural community distribution, both indirectly by causing glaciation and directly by influencing the distribution of plants and animals. Finally, humans have their impacts on the land, clearing, planting, reaping, mining, dredging, filling, and also conserving natural lands. Table 1: Geologic Time Scale Era Periods Time Significant Events in Vermont Geology (Millions of years before present) PrecambrianPrecambrian Over 540 Grenville Orogeny joins plates in Grenville supercontinent and uplifts Adirondacks. Paleozoic Cambrian 540 to 443 Plates move apart. Green Mountains and Ordovician Taconic rocks laid down in deep water of Iapetus Ocean. Champlain Valley and Vermont Valley rocks laid down in shallow sea. Taconic Orogeny adds Taconic island arc to proto-North America, raises Green Mountains and causes major thrusting. Iapetus Ocean begins to close. Silurian 443 to 354 Vermont Piedmont rocks laid down in eastern Devonian Iapetus. Acadian Orogeny adds eastern New England to proto-North America and changes Green Mountains.
    [Show full text]
  • Mountain Development Inventory
    MOUNTAIN DEVELOPMENT INVENTORY TOWN LANDFORM ELEVATION STRUCTURES NOTES Brousseau Mtn Brousseau – 2714’ Averill Antenna, fire tower Sable Mtn Sable – 2725 Barnet Barnet Mtn 1221’ Comerford Hydro 1 antenna & 1 tower Barre East Hill Antenna @ summit 2 antennas @ Cobble Hill, summit of Cobble - Barre East Cobble Hill 1776’ Antenna Millstone Hill 3 antennas @ summit of Millstone 1 antenna & 1 tower Barre West Irish Hill Antenna @ summit Barton Barton Mountain 2235’ Antenna 1 antenna & 2 Bennington Mount Anthony 2345 ft. Antenna towers @ summit of Mount Anthony Rochester Mt 2953’ Bethel/Rochester Rochester Gap Bethel Mountain Rd Mt Lympus 2480’ Mt Lympus 2480’ French Woods Rd Bethel/Stockbridge Stockbridge Gap Vulture Mtn 1520’ Gay Hill Rd Bloomfield Gore Mountain 3600’ Antenna, fire tower Bolton Ski Resort, Ricker Mountain, Ricker Mtn 3401’ Bolton Lodge, Bolton Bolton Mountain Bolton Mtn 3680’ Taylor Lodge, Antenna, Fire tower Bolton Bolton Notch Notch Road Wiley Lodge, Antenna (Robbins), Robbins Mountain, Robbins Mtn 2060’ Bolton/Huntington Fire tower (Camel's Camel's Hump Camel's Hump 4083 Hump) Bomoseen Eaton Hill 1027’ Antenna Brandon Lion Hill 853’ Antenna Brattleboro Bear Hill 1360’ Fire tower Buels Gore Appalachian Gap Route 17 Burke Burke Mountain 3267’ NOTE: This inventory states examples of current and past high altitude development. It is based upon the best available information, including GIS data from VCGI. LandWorks does not guarantee the accuracy or comprehensiveness of this data. Some listed structures may no longer exist.
    [Show full text]
  • 5. PART-2.Pdf
    Part Two Biophysical Regions of Vermont Biophysical Regions of Vermont ne of the most rewarding parts of studying a landscape and its natural communities is appreciating all the factors that work together to cause Ovariation within that landscape. When we study the landscape of the world, we look to climate to explain most of the broad patterns of geographic variation. As we look more closely, say at the North American continent, climate is still the overrid- ing feature that causes variation, but we begin to see influences from other factors such as geological history. As we look even more closely, for example at the state of Vermont, we begin to see that landforms and soils, along with human history, influence variations as well. The biophysical regions of Vermont presented in Figure 2 help organize the landscape into smaller units that share features of climate, geology, topography, soils, natural communities, and human history. Although each region has variation within it, all are widely recognized as units that are more similar than they are different. Figure 2 was developed by analyzing existing land classification maps and by assessing biological and physical data with new analytical techniques (Girton 1997). The map was created so that land managers from all state and federal land managing agencies, as well as private land managers, could have a single map of biophysical regions to work with as a way of organizing their planning and thinking about natural communities in Vermont. Although our map shows Vermont only, the regions have no political boundaries, and they do not end at Vermont’s border.
    [Show full text]
  • Bedrock Geology of the Fayston‑Buels Gore Area
    BEDROCK GEOLOGY OF THE FAYSTON - BUELS GORE AREA CENTRAL VERMONT * : *• * / f 4 By Gregory J. Walsh Vermont Geological Survey Special Bulletin No. 13, 1992 Diane Conrad, State Geologist BEDROCK GEOLOGY OF THE FAYSTON - BUELS GORE AREA CENTRAL VERMONT By Gregory J. Walsh Vermont Geological Survey Special Bulletin No. 13, 1992 Diane Conrad, State Geologist TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT . 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................ 2 LITHOL OGlES 2 UNDERHILL FORMATION ............................................ 3 Quartz Laminated Schist (CZuql) .................................. 3 Schist and Metawacke (CZu) ...................................... 3 Greenstone and Ampbibolite (CZug) ............................... 4 BATTELL FORMATION 5 MONASTERY FORMATION ........................................... 5 Schist(CZm) ................................................... 6 Greenstone (CZmg) .............................................. 7 FAYSTON FORMATION .............................................. 7 White Albitic Schist (CZf) ........................................ 8 Quartzo-Feldspathic Granofels (CZfq) ............................. 8 Quartz-Biotite Gneiss (CZfb) ..................................... 9 Quartz - Muscovite - Tourmaline Schist (CZft) ......................... 10 Greenstone (CZfg) .............................................. 10 GRANVILLE FORMATION ............................................ 10 Carbonaceous Albitic Schist (Cg) .................................. 11 Lincoln Gap Member (Cgl) ......................................
    [Show full text]
  • Bedrock Geologic Map of the West Dover and Jacksonville Quadrangles, Windham County, Vermont
    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR TO ACCOMPANY MAP I-2552 U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BEDROCK GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE WEST DOVER AND JACKSONVILLE QUADRANGLES, WINDHAM COUNTY, VERMONT By Nicholas M. Ratcliffe and Thomas R. Armstrong INTRODUCTION include the Mount Snow and Readsboro quadrangles (Ratcliffe, The oldest rocks in the West Dover and Jacksonville quadran­ 1993a), the Jamaica-Townshend area (Ratcliffe, 1997), the gles are Middle Proterozoic gneisses that are exposed in the cores Heath quadrangle (Hatch and Hartshorn, 1968), the of complex antiformal structures in the Rayponda and Sadawga Williamstown-North Adams area (Herz, 1961; Ratcliffe and oth­ domes, which are about 10 km east of the Green Mountain mas­ ers, 1993), and the Rowe quadrangle (Chidester and others, sif (fig. 1 on sheet 2). In the adjacent Mount Snow and Reads­ 1967). Comprehensive discussions of the stratigraphy and struc­ boro quadrangles to the west, the Sadawga dome is a complex, tural geology of the Rowe Schist, Moretown Formation, Hawley highly irregular domal structure of folded imbricate thrust sheets Formation, and Goshen Formation in Massachusetts are in Stan­ (Ratcliffe, 1993a). Middle Proterozoic rocks in the hanging wall ley and Hatch (1988) and Hatch and Stanley (1988). Hepburn and footwall of the combined Wilmington and Cobb Brook and others (1984) present a comprehensive discussion of the thrusts (fig. 1) form the core rocks of the Sadawga dome. A com­ geology of the Brattleboro quadrangle, which is immediately east plex succession of metasedimentary and metavolcanic cover of this area. rocks of Late Proterozoic, Cambrian, and Ordovician age overlie Ratcliffe (1993a) defined the term Lithotectonic Unit to the domes.
    [Show full text]
  • The Geology of the Hardwick Area, Vermont
    THE GEOLOGY OF THE HARDWICK AREA, VERMONT By RONALD H. KONIG and JOI-IN G. DENNIS VERMONT GEOLOGICAL SUR\TEY CHARLES G. DOLL, State Geologist Published by VERMONT DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT MONTPELIER, \TERMONT BULLETIN No. 24 1964 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT 7 INTRODUCTION ....................... 7 Location ........................ 7 Geologic Setting ..................... S Previous Work ...................... S Method ......................... S Acknowledgments .................... 8 Physiography ...................... 10 STRATIGRAPHY ........................ 11 Introduction ....................... 11 Stowe Formation ....... ... ............ ii General Statement ................... 11 Distribution ...................... 11 Lithologic Detail .................... 13 Age......................... 14 Missisquoi Formation ................... 14 General Statement ................... 14 Distribution ...................... 14 Umbrella Hill Member ................. 15 Moretown Member.................... 16 Age......................... 17 Shaw Mountain Formation ................ 18 General Statement ................... IS Distribution ...................... 18 Lithologic Detail .................... IS Age......................... 19 Northfield Formation ................... 20 General Statement ................... 20 Distribution .......... 20 Lithologic Detail .................... 20 Age......................... 21 Waits River Formation .................. 22 General Statement ................... 22 Distribution ...................... 22 Age........................
    [Show full text]
  • Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park
    National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park Geologic Resources Inventory Report Natural Resource Report NPS/NRSS/GRD/NRR—2011/454 z ON THE COVER The moon rises over the hilly and wooded landscape surrounding the park and town of Woodstock. THIS PAGE Streams flow from The Pogue, a man made pond tucked into the hills of the park’s Mount Tom Forest. Fed by natural springs, this pond is one of the centerpieces of the park. Rocks in the park were deposited in and near ancient ocean basins and subsequently deformed during Appalachian mountain-building. National Park Service photographs by Ed Sharron (Marsh-Billing Rockefeller NHP). Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park Geologic Resources Inventory Report Natural Resource Report NPS/NRSS/GRD/NRR—2011/454 National Park Service Geologic Resources Division PO Box 25287 Denver, CO 80225 September 2011 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science office in Fort Collins, Colorado publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Report Series is used to disseminate high-priority, current natural resource management information with managerial application. The series targets a general, diverse audience, and may contain NPS policy considerations or address sensitive issues of management applicability.
    [Show full text]