The Trust for Public Land has facilitated the purchase of over 2,100 acres in southern Vermont in proximity to the Appalachian Trail. 

The forest land adjoining existing Green Mountain National Forest lands includes 688 acres in northeast Pownal, 1,251 acres in central Stamford, and 165 acres in east Stamford.

The purchase includes a stand of healthy, mature American Chestnut trees, not yet affected by the blight that wiped out most of the species, as well as  wetlands and increasingly threatened oak stands. 

The land will create a buffer next to the Appalachian/Long Trail systems and provide additional recreational opportunities, including a 1.5-mile section of snowmobile trail and several miles of hiking trails. The property was sold by Connecticut based Park Forestry, a company that purchases properties with recreational potential with the intention of them to become public lands. In this case, the company purchased the eight plots that would become the Green Mountain NF added parcel over a decade, during which they were managed through sustainable forestry practices.

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