09/03/2026
Conservation is often a marathon, not a sprint. As a decade-long conservation project called the Worcester Woods initiative reaches its final major phase, we're celebrating the permanent protection of 3,447 acres of Worcester Woods working forest in Woodbury, Vermont, alongside our partners at Vermont Land Trust and Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation.
The Worcester Woods initiative has protected more than 18,000 acres of working forest stretching across the region and the newly protected land is owned by the Meyer family's E.B. Hyde Corporation. By permanently protecting the land though the federal Forest Legacy program, the Meyer family and partners are ensuring the land will remain a forest for future generations, while continuing to support sustainable timber harvesting and wildlife habitat. By conserving the land while retaining the ability to manage it as a working forest, the family is helping keep this landscape productive, connected, and intact. The property includes extensive forest and wetland habitat, as well as a mile of undeveloped shoreline along East Long Pond, and lies within the Worcesters-to-Northeast-Kingdom wildlife corridor, a million-acre landscape of remote forest that supports wildlife movement and climate resilience.
Future generations will also benefit from the additional 301 acres the Meyer family sold directly to Vermont Fish & Wildlife as an addition to Buck Lake WMA, home to one of the two Green Mountain Conservation Camps in the state. GMCC teaches young Vermonters about fish and wildlife, forestry, ecology, outdoor skills, and responsible stewardship of natural resources through hands-on experiences in the field, and this addition to Buck Lake will ensure future campers can continue to learn, explore, and build meaningful connections to Vermont's natural landscape.
📷 Photos 1 & 2: Worcester Woods conserved land, photos by Vermont Land Trust; Photo 3: Aerial view of the land conserved in the final phase, photo by FPR; Photos 4 & 5: the addition also benefits GMCC campers, photos by VFWD
