In response, a group of impassioned townspeople, skiers and mountain bikers devised a plan to buy back and infuse new life into Ascutney Mountain—using the Community Forest model as a guide.
Ascutney ascension
The 468-acre Ascutney Mountain Resort property abutted the 1,112 West
Windsor Town Forest, which harbors wildlife habitat, local water
supplies, productive woodlands and popular cross-country ski and
mountain biking trails.
With a lead grant from our Community Forest Fund, the Trust for
Public Land helped the town protect the former resort property, adding
it to West Windsor Town Forest. The transaction protected a key portion
of a 30-mile network of non-motorized trails that has become a
four-season recreation destination, providing a boost to the local
economy.
Conservation of the property also knits together a 6,640-acre block
of conservation land—one of the largest protected forest blocks in the
region and an important east-west wildlife linkage.