11-1SG Northern Rivers Land Trust
Grant Round:
2011 February
Grant Program:
Small Grants
Grant Type:
Other Grants
Grant amount requested:
2,500.00
Attachments
Please provide a brief description of the project for which you seek funding.
Pat deGogorza Gahagan, owner of a 104-acre largely wooded property in Woodbury, VT, has offered to donate a conservation easement on the property to the NRLT. Special features of the property include a 12-acre pond attracting wildlife, two vernal pools, and a 2-acre fen in a mixed soft-hardwood forest on variegated terrain. The pond was created by damming the Dog Pond outlet brook for a sawmill and is significant in the history of Woodbury. Beavers are active in the dam area and there are clear signs of bear and moose on the east side of the pond. A survey of plant and aquatic life has not been completed, but yellow pond lilies (Nuphar variegata)are the dominant rooted aquatic plant. The 2-acre fen is dominated by the sedge Carex lasiocarpa, with a large population of lesser purple fringed orchids (Platanthera psycodes), and about five plants of Swamp Thistle, Cirsium muticum, a State- listed (S3) native thistle. A few plants of C. muticum were also noted along the brook leading into the pond in a small, open shrub-wetland area around the brook. Deer, moose, otter, muskrat, fisher, mink, bobcat, black bear, barred owl, great blue heron, osprey, hooded mergansers, American mergansers, ring-necked duck,mallard, Canada geese, wood duck, and black duck, have been observed on the property. The two vernal pools are to the east and north of the pond. The one closest to the pond appears to hold water year-round. Rich hardwoods are located in the northeastern part of the property. In the hilly northwestern part of the land are mixed hard and softwoods of medium age, used as a woodlot. The woodland is partly steeply ledged and there is a remote swamp in the northern corner, with spectacular boulder formations jutting up from the swamp. NRLT proposes a conservation easement on 94 acres of the property, with the landowner reserving two homesteads of five acres each, one of which is her current home. The remainder of the property will be left in its natural state providing continuing wildlife habitat and wildlife travelways while preserving existing plant life. We hope to develop limited public access to special interest areas such as the pond, in collaboration with neighboring landowners and the Woodbury community.
Primary Issue Area:
Land & Water
Please break-down/categorize the program expenses:
| Proposed Item | Estimated $ Amount | Would grant funds be used for this item? | Type Of Expense |
|---|---|---|---|
| Title Search | $400.00 | Materials | |
| Easement Registration | $160.00 | Yes | Materials |
| Legal review | $300.00 | Materials | |
| Community celebration | $250.00 | Yes | Materials |
| Stewardship endowment (NEGEF component) | $2,090.00 | Yes | Materials |
| Stewardship endowment (NRLT component) | $2,910.00 | Materials | |
| Finalizing easement agr | $300.00 | Materials | |
| Prep. Baseline Doc. Rpt | $200.00 | Materials | |
| Contacts Woodbury comm. | $200.00 | Materials |
Whom does your group need to make this project happen?
Please explain how your group will engage members from your community in this project.
Ms. Gahagan and other NRLT trustees will ask to meet with the Woodbury Conservation Commission and the Woodbury Selectboard to explain the project to them and invite their suggestions for its detailed design, as well as for disseminating knowledge of the project throughout the town. As indicated in (4) above, the NRLT will organize a community celebration, inviting Woodbury townspeople to tour the property and discuss a broader approach to conservation in Woodbury. The NRLT will also feature the Gahagan easement in its newsletter #4, scheduled for publication and distribution in the spring to several hundred members of our 7-town community.
If your group receives a NEGEF Grow grant, how do you plan to pay for remaining expenses?
| $ Amount | Source |
|---|---|
| $2,500.00 | NEGEF Grant |
| $2,910.00 | NRLT |
Please list these materials or services
| $ Amount | Item |
|---|---|
| $700.00 | NRLT Advis.Comm (7 hours) |
| $700.00 | NRLT trustees (35 hours) |
| $100,000 Easement donation |
Please describe what changes will occur in your community and its environment when your group's project is successful.
This project is viewed by the current landowner and NRLT as the 'seed' for conservation of additional properties, adjacent and nearby, that would have a significant impact on the Woodbury community, preserving its rural character and amenity for current and future residents. This will be only the second conserved parcel in Woodbury--the first easement, donated to the Vermont Land Trust in 2001, is on a 67-acre parcel on the Elmore town line. Woodbury has a ten acre Town Forest, an active Conservation Commission, and a number of landowners interested in conservation. Education for and promotion of future conservation projects has already begun. Last year the current landowner (an NRLT Board member) and the NRLT Board organized a presentation on land conservation, the proposal to conserve this property, and a tour of the property to neighboring land owners and interested persons in Woodbury. Several land owners have expressed interest. Land conservation in Woodbury is especially important as this area is a major corridor connecting wildlife habitats, forested as it is on both sides of Route 14. The next major public event promoting the development of this larger conservation program will be a community celebration of the Gahagan conservation easement.
Please list how many people in your community your group expects to actively engage in this project.
30
What relevant skills does the group need (but does not currently have access to) to help move the initiative forward?
We require legal services to conduct a title search and vet the easement agreement that has been drafted from a template provided by an outside legal expert. For these services we will call upon the lawyers on our advisory committee.
What relevant skills do current members of the group have to help move the initiative forward?
The NRLT Board contains a wealth of professional experience in this area. Various members are connected with the Land Trust Alliance, The Nature Conservancy, the Trust for Public Land, the Wilderness Society, the Greensboro Land Trust, Keeping Track, the Staying Connected Initiative, and other conservation groups. Our organization also has an advisory committee that includes two lawyers, a forester, a tax specialist, a computer expert, and a natural scientist.