Vermont Land Trust

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Vermont Land Trust

Vermont Land Trust unites land and lives for the enduring benefit of people and the place we share.

Rooted in Vermont since 1977, we unite land and lives for the enduring benefit of people and the place we share. We have conserved farms, forests, trails, and natural areas covering over 11% of the state—land that contributes to our abundance of food and forest products, tourism and recreation, and community vitality. Partnering with landowners, communities, and all Vermonters, we work for a future where land and lives, in all of their diversity, can thrive.

06/06/2026

It's , which makes this a perfect day to celebrate the opening of our new trail at Pratt Refuge in .

Thanks to everyone who joined us on Thursday to formally open this accessible interpretive birding trail and enjoy the beautiful landscape of this birding hotspot. After the ribbon cutting, Audubon Vermont's Steve Hagenbuch led everyone on a guided walk, sharing more information about the birds featured in interpretive signs along the trail, and habitat improvements we've made to provide more nesting, feeding, and breeding grounds for those birds and more.

Help us celebrate with your own limited edition bird shirt! 👉 https://www.bonfire.com/vlt-chickadee/

Thanks to Audubon Vermont, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Athletic Brewing Company, Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation Recreational Trails Program, Vermont Youth Conservation Corps, Rabbit Track Trail Works, and the Mad Birders for your support of this trail and birding at Pratt Refuge. And of course, thank you to the Pratt family for donating this beautiful land to us to steward and share with other bird lovers in 2019.

06/05/2026

Are you nuts (and seeds) about birds? Help celebrate birds and the forests they love with one of our new limited edition bird shirts — only available before June 22: https://www.bonfire.com/vlt-chickadee/

This first design features the delightful chickadee. Legendary Vermont birder Fred Pratt had a favorite saying: "if you want to find birds, look for chickadees." These cheerful songbirds are guides. During the spring and fall, migrating songbirds will often follow resident chickadee flocks. Listen for their call, "hey, sweetie" and there may be a whole chorus of songbirds nearby, waiting to be discovered.

We'll be releasing a new limited t-shirt each month featuring a different forest bird, celebrating bird habitat and trail improvements at Pratt Refuge. Stay tuned to our social and e-newsletters to get yours!

🖌️ Designed by Michael J. Balzano

06/04/2026

Did you know horses are welcome at Brewster Uplands in ? Donor Relations Director Christa Kemp brought some friends (both two and four legged) to explore the beautiful property. All of the 10+ miles of trails are open to horseback riding (along with hiking, birdwatching, mountain biking, and skiing in the winter). Plan your next visit at https://vlt.org/featured-properties/brewster-uplands/

📸: Christa and Horse Trail Chicks

06/03/2026

VLT is part of a coalition working to conserve ash against the threat of the emerald ash borer (EAB). A key strategy is collecting and preserving ash seeds — particularly black ash seeds.

Ash trees are flowering right now (see the first two pictures for examples). Seeds will start to develop in June and will be ready for collection in the fall. Based on the number of flowers we're currently seeing, it's likely to be a big seed year.

Smokey House Center recently hosted a gathering of coalition partners focused on seed collection. Participants got to practice with "big shots": giant slingshots that will shoot a line over the top of the tree. Tarps spread underneath the tree will catch seeds as the line is pulled down.

If you have black ash trees on your property, you can help! Let us know: https://www.anecdata.org/projects/view/mama-ash-reports

Thanks to all the partners in this effort:
Smokey House Center, Intervale Center, NorthWoods Stewardship Center, Stowe Land Trust, Forest Stewards Guild, The Nature Conservancy in Vermont, Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation, Ash Protection Collaboration Across Waponahkik, Ecological Research Institute, The Science and Technology Research Initiative for the Vermont Economy (STRIVE)

📸 Photos by Jess Colby, NorthWoods Stewardship Center

06/02/2026

Look among dense thickets of young trees close to the forest floor to find this striking warbler. You might be lucky enough to see a flash of blue as the songbird flits from its nest near the ground within the fork of a sapling.

🖌️ Illustration by Michael J. Balzano
🔉 by Audubon

06/01/2026

Our ecologist, Allaire Diamond, shares some of her favorite wetland and floodplain plants. These plants are key for flood resilience, helping slow floodwaters, create habitat and boost clean water.

🌿 Ostrich ferns are found from high headwater wetlands down to floodplain forests along our rivers. They can handle being totally submerged during floods and continue growing.

🔴 Golden saxifrage grows in a springy green carpet in wetlands fed by groundwater. Look for its unique red flowers in May and June.

🌱 Royal ferns have loose, graceful fronds and can grow up to five feet tall. In the spring, its fiddleheads and young fronds can be orange to wine red, blended with greenish brown.

⚪️ Toothwort is a member of the mustard family that grows in small floodplains along streams and moist deciduous woodlands. The edible leaves have a bitter, mustardy flavor.

👉 Learn more: https://vlt.org/2025/03/13/plants-wetland-seep-floodplain-vermont/

05/29/2026

This vibrant woodpecker makes its home in the trunks or branches of decomposing trees, feeding on insects that also live there. Despite its name, its most distinctive feature is it's vibrant red head and speckled black and white back.

🖌️ Illustration by Michael J. Balzano

05/28/2026

Congratulations to the Berlin Conservation Commission and the Perrin family on the official opening and dedication of the Perrin Mountain Pasture, a new addition to the Irish Hill Town Forest in Berlin, Vermont! The approximately 100-acre parcel was owned and stewarded by the Perrin family for generations, and affectionately known as Mountain Pasture, where they summered heifers and enjoyed family picnics on Sundays.

In 2025, as part of an effort by the family to ensure that the now-forested land is protected and open to the public forever, the land was purchased at a bargain sale by the Town of Berlin, in partnership with VLT and the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board.

While the plaque and dedication this month represent a huge milestone, future plans for a hiking trail and signage are in the works.

Learn more about the effort here: https://vlt.org/newsroom/berlin-town-forest-addition/

📷 1 & 2 courtesy the Perrin family
1. Members of the Perrin family and Berlin Conservation Commission at Perrin Mountain Pasture on dedication day, with the newly installed plaque in the background (middle)
2. Red trillium spotted on dedication day
3. Photo of the woods taken a few days before the land was protected last year

05/27/2026

Benches along trails or at vistas help people rest, catch their breath, and enjoy the nature around them. VLT uses a specific type of bench on our properties: The Leopold Bench. Know why? 👀 Watch to learn more!

05/26/2026

On a hot day like this one, vernal pools might host more than amphibians! This one in central Vermont helped a mama bear and her two cubs cool off on a hot mid-April day a couple of years ago.

Address

8 Bailey Avenue
Montpelier, VT
05602

Telephone

+18022235234

Website

http://www.vlt.org/

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