Gile Mountain and Woody Adams Conservation Forest Conservation Project Almost Complete
The Upper Valley Land Trust and the Norwich Conservation Commission have raised $320,000 in grants and private funds to purchase and permanently protect 290 acres of upland forest that includes the Norwich Town Forest, Gile Mountain Fire Tower, and a third parcel connecting the two, with their shared forest to be known as the Woody Adams Conservation Forest. According to Peg Merrens, UVLT’s Vice President of Conservation, “we’ve entered the last phase of the fundraising with just $10,000 to go in donations to ensure that this significant forest will be protected forever.” The popular hiking destinations of the Gile Mountain Trail and a portion of the Blue Ribbon Ridge Trail cross these properties. The forest harbors important wildlife habitat, flood resilience potential, and climate change mitigation features.
On a clear day, the panoramic view from the fire tower atop Gile Mountain is one of the area’s most extensive and most accessible. From the top one can see the highest summits in the Upper Valley and mountains far away -- Mount Ascutney, Killington Peak and the Green Mountains, Mount Cardigan, Smarts Mountain, Mount Moosilauke and many of the White Mountains beyond. Gile Mountain, with its close proximity to Hanover, is one of the Upper Valley’s most popular recreational destinations. Merrens describes it as “a place that so many of us love so dearly – where we’ve hiked with families and friends to catch a sunset or sunrise or to watch hawks soar on the wind overhead.” This unique project arose when the owner of the intervening parcel (Tony Adams) offered his property to UVLT at a bargain rate with an eye towards protecting it in honor of his father, Woody Adams. The Norwich Conservation Commission recognized this as an opportunity to protect all three parcels as one conservation area. The addition of the 186 acre Woody Adams Forest tract will more than double the Gile Ridge acreage in town ownership. Tony hopes that this project will offer the Town the ability to explore a back country nordic ski and snowshoe loop.
Not only will the protection of the Woody Adams Conservation Forest ensure permanent public access to Gile Mountain, it will mean that the water quality of the streams, seeps, and vernal pools in two watersheds will be safeguarded. Protecting this watershed at its highest reaches will help to mitigate future flood damage to downstream areas that are prone to flooding. The Norwich Conservation Commission, is enthusiastic about creating a permanent, unfragmented forest block to ensure wildlife connectivity through North/South and East/West wildlife corridors. Craig Layne, the commission chair, says that “this effort will achieve multiple ecosystem services by protecting an upland forest that can sequester carbon, absorb water during heavy rain events, and offer a location for expected shifts in species distributions, all as a result of ongoing climate change.”
All three parcels comprising the Woody Adams Conservation Forest will be protected with a single conservation easement held by UVLT and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board. The total protected land will be 290 acres.
If you would like to join UVLT and the Norwich Conservation Commission and say yes to resilient forests, healthy watersheds, and the protection of trail access to Gile Mountain please visit https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/gile-adams and make a donation today.
