Southern Vermont nonprofit acquires 341 acres Bull Creek Headwaters conserved for public access, wildlife habitat, healthy forest, flood reduction and clean water

The southern Vermont community-based nonprofit Bull Creek Common Lands has placed 341 acres of remote land in Athens and Townshend under the permanent protection of a conservation easement with the Vermont Land Trust.

The conserved land is the headwaters of Bull Creek, which contains many wetlands and different forest types that are home to beavers, moose, deer, bear, fox, ducks and songbirds, as well as rare and endangered plant species. There are also several cellar holes and evidence of past farming.

Public access for nonmotorized recreation is available from Sam Farr Road in Athens with a pull-off parking area. The primary trail on the property is a section of the Legal Town Trail along Bull Creek. BCCL is planning a new trail that will connect Sam Farr Road to the other side of the property in Townshend.

Those interested in visiting the land from the Townshend side should visit the BCCL website for information. Visitors are also welcome to hike off-trail on the property.

“BCCL protected this land so everyone, your children and grandchildren, can enjoy it and appreciate the benefits of healthy forests, clean water, and plentiful wildlife,” said Andrew Toepfer, board member of BCCL. “We do this work because we love our neck of the woods in the same ways other Vermonters do. We want to uphold the rural Vermont tradition of keeping land open for the community to roam on, balance recreation and wildlands, and restore ecosystem health to benefit all.”

The land includes a section of Bull Creek along with the creek’s headwater tributaries, numerous wetlands, five vernal pools, beaver ponds, large swamps and peatlands. It lies less than a half mile west of the Raymond Bemis Community Forest, which was established by BCCL in 2023.

“The protection of the headwaters meets values that many in the community share,” said VLT’s Jennifer Garrett, who worked with BCCL on the project. “We’re gratified to support BCCL in the conservation of critical habitat and watershed features in southeastern Vermont, in a way that brings together care for the landscape with people’s needs and wishes.”

Community members already use the headwaters land for hiking and hunting. BCCL plans to manage it for public access, as well as the health of the land and water. The nonprofit organization has done some work to stabilize soils on old logging roads and, thus, reduce erosion caused by rain and snowmelt. They have also begun to manage non-native plant species in some areas to reduce pressure on existing flora and protect biodiversity.

BCCL worked over several years to protect the land, which was previously split across three contiguous parcels of 188+ acres in Athens, 110 acres in Townshend and 42+ acres in Athens.

The effort was funded by the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board, Open Space Institute, Davis Conservation Foundation, Fields Pond Foundation, Windham Foundation and numerous generous donors.