The Equinox Preservation Trust

09/01/2026

The Equinox Preservation Trust is once again looking for your help. At some point in the past few days an ATV has been using the northern trails on the Preserve: Trillium, the northern part of Maidenhair, the SVAC Loop and access trail down to the Arts Center. If you have any information, or have seen this activity please contact us.
ATV's in Vermont are not allowed to use lands without the owner's written permission. Additionally, the use of any motorized vehicles on the Equinox Preserve trail system (other than as a right-of-way for cabin owners) is a violation of the uses outlined by the conservation easements covering the lands.
We appreciate any information you can provide!

Send a message to learn more

08/31/2026

Join the Equinox Preservation Trust as we host a table at the September 4th StreetFest in Manchester to celebrate 30 years since lands forming the Equinox Preserve were protected by a conservation easement with the Vermont Land Trust!
Meet members of the Trust's Board of Directors, learn about what it takes to manage 914 acres of conserved forest land, and try your hand at identifying nature artifacts representative of the plants and animals of southwestern Vermont.
We hope to see you Friday starting at 5:30 PM!

08/27/2026

Joe Charbonneau, long-time member of the Board of Directors of the Equinox Preservation Trust, is stepping down from the Board to spend more time doting on his loving wife MaryFran, with his grandkids, on his boat, and on the golf course.
The EPT Board extends its sincere thanks to Joe.
Your watchful eye on the Trust’s finances for 21 years (24 on the
BOD) while enthusiastically participating in EPT meetings & activities have most ably supported EPT’s Mission.
Thanks to your dedication and valued skills as treasurer and as a very active and hands-on participant in special work projects in the field, you have helped assure the future of these lands as a valued
community and educational asset.
With your active involvement on the EPT Board of Directors, this
vibrant forest environment will long provide a prime example of a
mature northern hardwood forest for generations to come, made
accessible through a maintained trail network and by careful
management of these lands.
Thanks for all of your years of service Joe!! If you see Joe around town, and you will, please thank him for all his hard work and dedication to not only the Preserve but to the community as a whole.

08/21/2026

The Blue Trail up from BBA is now open. The trailhead is slightly re-located. Look for the sign post and map just to the right of the green barn and gray conex storage container (see photos).
We would like to take this opportunity to remind trail users that parking in the BBA lot is a privilege extended to Preserve visitors. Parking is only available when school is NOT in session (i.e. after 3 PM and on weekends and school holidays). As always please respect the property and facilities by leashing and picking up after your pet while on school grounds. School will be in session starting next week.

08/19/2026

The Trust has established two long-term ash monitoring plots on the Preserve using criteria developed by the Ecological Research Institute's Monitoring and Managing Ash (MaMA) program.
One site is bisected by the Trout Lily Trail below the spring house and the other is north of the old Red Gate.
The link below connects to the map of all currently established plots. https://www.monitoringash.org/mama-action-maps/
(When you click on the link, follow-up by clicking on the Northeastern US MaMA Action Map Overview to go to the map and the included data).

07/21/2026

A section of the Red Gate trail will be closed for the next several days due to nesting yellow jackets under the footbridge. It is easy to detour around this closure by using Snicket.
Both bears and skunks will dig up and/or destroy ground hornet and yellow jacket nests looking for larva to eat. In this case parts of the shredded nest are visible underneath the bridge so it appears a predator has already gotten to it. However, there are still yellow jackets in the area so it is best to detour for a few days.
Equinox Hotel staff have been informed of the nest near the Pond as this area is not part of the Preserve.

07/16/2026

Preserve visitors please take notice:
Burr and Burton Academy is conducting work along the road which allows access to the Preserve trail system from the student parking lot. This trailhead will be inaccessible for the next two weeks or until further notice.
The parking lot will still be available for use; hikers will need to walk up the road to the Red Gate trailhead and enter the trail system from there.
Large construction vehicles will be in and out of the BBA lot during this time so please park well out of the way.
As always the Preserve trails can also be accessed from the Southern Vermont Arts Center during their hours of operation. No public parking is available along Equinox Pond Rd.
Thanks for your cooperation and please share this information with other Preserve trail users.

06/21/2026

The public is invited to join the Equinox Preserve Forest and Trails Steward Rick LaDue for a short hike to learn how to identify signs of two threats to forest health in Vermont: emerald ash borer and beech leaf disease. Two hike options are scheduled, on Thursday, June 25, 5:30-7:30 p.m, and on Saturday June 27, from 9-11 a.m. The same information will be covered on each hike.
In 2025, signs of two non-native introduced pest species were discovered on the Equinox Preserve: emerald ash borer and beech leaf disease. We wish to share with the public the numerous steps taken since March 2025 to manage and monitor these threats, as well as actions you may take on your own property.
Each hike will begin and end at the Burr and Burton student parking lot on West Union St in Manchester Village and will cover approximately 1.5 miles with some steep uphill at the start. Insect repellant is strongly recommended. Please leave dogs at home. Rain will cancel the program.
Please share this information with others who may be interested!
For questions, please contact the Trust at [email protected]

06/11/2026

On Tuesday, June 9, forester Caitlin Cusack of the Vermont Land Trust and the Preserve Forest and Trails Steward treated 11 ash trees on the Preserve with an insecticide called emamectin. This is the second round of treatment which began in 2023 on a small stand of trees growing between Flatlanders and across Snicket.
Research has shown that creating numerous small stands of protected ash trees is one important tool to increase the chances that ash trees will remain on the Vermont landscape for future generations.
Emamectin is injected into the trunk of the tree close to the base. The tree's vascular system then transports the insecticide up the tree and into the canopy.
Unfortunately this strategy is both expensive and requires a long-term commitment.
However, the photos will show the reasoning behind our core goal. The tree with the lush canopy is one of the eleven that was first treated in 2023. The other photo shows three canopies of ash trees without protection which are growing mere yards away.
In the coming weeks the Steward will be leading a short hike along the trails, explaining EPT's response to the emerald ash borer (EAB) infestation as will as pointing out signs of beech leaf disease (BLD), first found on the Preserve in September 2025. If you have questions or would like more information on these two non-native introduced forest pests look for more information coming soon.
Thanks to Caitlin and VLT for all the help!

04/22/2026

Maybe you were able to listen today, but if not Vermont Public Radio's Vermont Edition program interviewed Dr Morgan Southgate. Morgan is researching wildflower phenology on the upper slopes of Mt Equinox at two sites, one on the Preserve and the other close by on adjacent TNC property. Specifically she is looking at how small differences in topography, slope aspect, etc influence spring wildflowers.
Morgan explains it better: https://www.vermontpublic.org/show/vermont-edition/2026-04-22/vermonts-forests
Her interview starts at approximately the 34 minute mark.