RICHMOND, VT (March 27, 2018) – Thanks to support from the Open Space Institute (OSI), the town of Richmond, 15 miles outside of Burlington, is a proud owner of New England’s newest Community Forest. Completed by the Vermont Land Trust and community members, the project will enhance local recreation opportunities while protecting plant and animal habitat.
Supported with a grant from OSI’s Community Forest Fund, which helps create and expand community forests in northern New England, the 428-acre forest is located just a mile from the village center. The land will provide opportunities for hiking, cross-country skiing, mountain biking, hunting, and birdwatching, while protecting a tributary of Lake Champlain and vernal pools, wetlands, a dry oak forest — rare in Vermont — that are important as a haven for wildlife.
The Richmond Community Forest also received funding from the US Forest Service Community Forest Program. Future funding for the program was doubled to $4 million in the Federal Omnibus Bill, passed March 2018. The spending package also increased funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund to $425 million – a $25 million increase – and includes additional funds for a wildlife conservation account.