JULT - Jericho Underhill Land Trust - conserving land in Vermont

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Annual Meeting

JULT members, family and friends are cordially invited to our Annual Meeting on May 3, 2010 at Underhill Town Hall. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for refreshments and mingling, followed by a short business meeting at 7 p.m. Our guest speaker is Jens-Hawkins-Hilke, a conservation planning biologist for the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife. He has been instrumental in assisting both of our towns with assessing our natural resources and showing conservation and planning commissions how this information can help direct land use planning decisions that affect us all…human and animal alike. We look forward to seeing you. Please call Livy at 899-2693 with any questions.

Thirteenth Annual Bird Walk

You are invited to join us on our annual bird walk at Mills Riverside Park on Sunday, May 16th at 7 a.m. Once again, we’ll welcome home our newly arrived migrant species with the help of our loyal and enthusiastic leader, Evergreen Erb. We will also take note of our hardy resident birds. The park, with its rich mix of habitats, is especially suited for an exciting bird walk with much to discover. Expect to hear or see a variety of warblers, Eastern kingbirds by the pond and smaller flycatchers, Gray catbirds, vireos, and many more. We may see Eastern blue birds preparing to nest in one of the park’s many boxes and singing Bobolinks perched along the fence posts. Please remember to bring your binoculars and dress for the weather. The meandering walk will take several hours and you may leave at any time.

On Thursday, May 13th, Evergreen will give us a preview of the birds we expect to see and hear by sharing her wonderful bird slides with taped song. This is an excellent introduction to birding in general and will enhance the upcoming walk. This presentation will be held at the Deborah Rawson Memorial Library’s Fireplace room at 6:30 p.m. Both events are co-sponsored by the Jericho Underhill Land Trust and the Deborah Rawson Memorial Library.

On the banks of the Browns River in Jericho, with Mount Mansfield looming behind, Mills Riverside Park offers some of the most scenic playing fields in Chittenden County.

This just in from the JULT Stewardship Committee:
Today, a fabulous crew of four were successful in totally demolishing the old Wolfrun camp. Metal roofing is piled for removal and wood is piled for burning. This was all accomplished by 12:30 PM which was amazing given I was sure it would take at least a full day. A hearty thanks goes out to Michel, Westin and Walter for all their boundless demolishing energy. Stop by on Saturday May 1st, 9:00 to 5:00 and bring your hotdogs and marshmallows, 'cause we'll have the camp fire burning!

This year's annual meeting will feature an exciting presentation by Eveleen C, Cecchini, Director of Outreach for Earth Stewardship (OFES). This Shelburne Farm-based nonprofit organization is licensed to rehabilitate injured, orphaned and ailing migratory birds and birds of prey. After administering expert medical attention, OFES returns many of these birds to the wild. In fact, OFES rehabilitated a starving great horned owl and released it this summer at Mills Riverside Park, healthy and ready to resume hunting. Some birds are so badly injured they must remain under the care of OFES. A few of these full-time residents, mostly owls and hawks, become "ambassadors" to the public, representing their wild counterparts at presentations in Chittenden County and beyond. Eveleen will be bringing a number of these special birds to our annual meeting to help her explain the impact we all have on our wild avian neighbors. The ethic of earth stewardship, notes Eveleen, involves "recognizing that all of our Earth's beings have an inherent worth, and that we have a responsibility to treat the planet and its processes with care and respect." Her broad experience in caring for birds and the environment they depend on gives her a special insight on land conservation that she will share with us.

Come join us at the Underhill Town Hall on May 3, 2004 for our JULT annual meeting and the celebration of a year's worth of land conservation in our community, as well as an update on our exciting current land conservation projects. Refreshments begin at 6:30 p.m. with a brief business meeting to follow. A selection of our magnificent Adirondack chairs will also be on display; purchases and orders will be accepted at the meeting. This year has been especially productive
and we look forward to celebrating our accomplishments with you.

Readers of our last newsletter will remember that we receivced a generous donation of 120 unfinished Adirondack style chairs....

April 15 doesn't have to be painful again next year. Instead, it can be a day you celebrate both your tax savings and the satisfaction of permanently conserving important open spaces. CLICK HERE to view the entire Land Trust Alliance news article.

WASHINGTON (Thursday, Nov. 5) – Sen. Patrick Leahy has secured $3,150,000 to conserve several tracts of working forestland in Chittenden County. Leahy secured the funds as part of the 2004 budget bill for the Interior Department that passed Congress earlier this week.

On July 16, 2003, the Jericho Underhill Land Trust (JULT) took ownership of 279 acres of extraordinary wildlife habitat. This event was the culmination of an intense, one and a half year fundraising campaign that provided the $293,000 necessary to purchase the property from West Bolton Golf Club. A proposed multi-lot subdivision was the original plan for this habitat rich land that is home to black bear, moose, deer, river otter, rare plants and countless bird species. Community concern coupled with the landowner's desire to see this land conserved were the necessary ingredients for JULT to become active in the preservation of this property.

The Jericho Underhill Land Trust purchased Wolfrun Natural Area, in Jericho and Richmond, July 16 for $293,000 from the West Bolton Golf Club. The club had owned the land since the early 1990s. The natural area is permanently protected from development and clearcutting, said Bob Linck, Champlain Valley co-director for the Vermont Land Trust.

This afternoon the title of the 276 acre piece of property hereafter known as Wolfrun Natural Area passed into the hands of The Jericho Underhill Land Trust.

MILTON -- One group saved a diner in South Burlington from demolition. Another taught the history of Jericho's Mills Riverside Park. And another renovated a building on Burlington's Main Street to provide housing for families. The Chittenden County Historical Society honored these three groups and four others for their unique preservation efforts at the society's annual meeting held at the Milton Historical Society on Sunday.

The transfer of ownership of the 265-acre Wolfrun Natural Area from the West Bolton Golf Club to JULT, originally set to take place on April 30, and then on June 30, has now been rescheduled for July 16, 2003!

As anyone who's ever been involved in complicated land deals knows, getting all the details right often takes a bit more time than anyone anticipates. In this case, West Bolton Golf Club has granted two 50-foot right of ways for better access to some of the property, which is critical to future land management. A slight boundary discrepancy has also been resolved.

The benefit to having extra time before we sign on the dotted line is that JULT can finalize other important Wolfrun agreements, such as:

" a management plan that will ensure careful wildlife habitat protection and enhancement;

" a conservation easement that will permanently conserve this land, and which JULT will donate to Vermont Land Trust at the time of purchase;

" continued cooperation with Keeping Track® and the many citizen volunteers that participate in its wildlife monitoring programs on Wolfrun.

There were 60+ people from the Jericho and Underhill communities in attendance to hear an inspiring talk by Brian Pfeiffer our Vermont bird expert of renown. Livy Strong led a lively and brief business meeting which elicited a supportive and enthusiastic response from everyone in the house. Silent auction items were bid on, a great bevy of refreshments were nibbled on, and a great deal of socializing occurred. In truth it was as good as it gets, and next year it will be even better! See you there.