Conserving Jericho's Barber Farm

The historic Barber Farm was settled in 1770 and has an agricultural legacy that spans many generations. For 240 years, the farm has produced a great variety of fresh foods for area families. Season after season, the rhythms and tempo of the farm have revolved around the land. This agrarian culture that we all treasure within our community, is becoming increasingly rare.

Fortunately, the owners of Barber Farm, the Siegchrist family, passionately wish to see this agricultural legacy continue. They have a ten-year lease with their neighbors, the popular Jericho Settlers’ Farm. Today, both the Jericho Underhill Land Trust and the Vermont Land Trust (VLT) are working with the Siegchrist family to ensure that farming remains vibrant at Barber Farm. A conservation easement will permanently protect 148 acres, 78 acres of which are listed on state maps as statewide significant soils, for agriculture and keep this land affordable for farming into the future. Barber Farm will remain in private ownership. This conservation project will also incorporate public access through a trail connection from JULT’s Kikas Valley Farm to a spectacular scenic vista of Camels Hump which is found at the top of the Barber Farm meadow.

The Siegchrists have generously agreed to accept significantly less than the full market value of the conservation easement. JULT and VLT are seeking $260,000 to fund the acquisition of the conservation easement and associated costs. Fortunately, a grant application to the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board for $235,000 was recently approved! This leaves an additional $25,000 of local fundraising that is necessary. At JULT’s request, the selectboard agreed in early December to include spending $13,000 from the Open Space Fund in the FY11 budget to assist with this important conservation effort. If this budget item is approved by Jericho voters at Town Meeting, JULT and VLT will only need to raise $12,000. Both the Jericho Underhill Land Trust and the Vermont Land Trust are appealing to the community to help ensure that Barber Farm’s agricultural land with such a long history, continues to produce and enrich Jericho’s farming heritage.

Help Protect Jericho’s Barber Farm!

It can happen with your help! Together we can permanently conserve this important farm. With significant funding from a Vermont Housing and Conservation Board grant, 90% has already been raised. Tax-deductible contributions may be sent to:

Jericho Underhill Land Trust
PO Box 80, Jericho, VT. 05465

or

The Vermont Land Trust
8 Bailey Ave., Montpelier, VT. 05602.

Thank you!

We DID It. The “Gateway” Is Protected!

Over six years of planning, work and waiting culminated in a single afternoon with JULT’s purchase of the Gateway land. On August 4, 2009 representatives from West Bolton Golf Club, the Vermont Land Trust, the State of Vermont and the Jericho Underhill Land Trust convened in a small lawyer’s office to handle the complicated transaction. The Gateway land encompasses prime wildlife habitat, multiple potential home sites, extensive trails and offers better access to the Wolfrun Natural Area. The appraised value for this 123 acre parcel was $435,000. The development rights were valued at $369,000. The Chittenden County Uplands Forest Legacy funding enabled the State to purchase the development rights and create a conservation easement for this land that ensures its protection along with public access…in perpetuity. The remaining amount of funding was the responsibility of JULT. We had about three months to raise $66,000 plus project costs. Thanks to an outpouring of community support, over half was received by the end of July. The rest came from our land protection fund which is comprised of membership donations saved over time. Without strong membership support, we would not have been able to purchase this land. Project costs include legal work, a forest management plan, enrollment in state current use and land stewardship.

Thanks to strong community support, the rugged and diverse Wolfrun Natural Area now encompasses land in Bolton along with Jericho and Richmond and has grown to 402 acres in size. These acres include extraordinary wildlife habitat that help link long stretches of conserved land from the Mt. Mansfield State Forest to the Winooski River valley. This unfragmented forest landscape provides essential wildlife corridors with key core habitat and offers a variety of trails for outdoor enjoyment.

JULT has been working with University of Vermont students to better inventory this newly acquired land for trail connections, cultural artifacts, vernal pools, seeps and other important natural resources. We plan to create a trail map so that this “Gateway” property will truly serve as an entrance to the Wolfrun Natural Area and we look forward to many years of wildlife study and enjoyment.

A special “Thank You” to the following donors who adopted an acre of Gateway land:-

Wolfrun Natural Area Gateway
 
In 2003, thanks to the generosity of community residents, the Jericho
Underhill Land Trust acquired the Wolfrun Natural Area. This property
encompasses 279 acres of diverse wildlife habitat and an extensive wetland
complex. Rugged cliffs serve as bobcat territory while black bear and moose
amble between the wetland and forest. Great blue herons have created a
series of thatched nests that rest stiffly on tree branches, suspended over
water. Wolfrun is the keystone property that connects essential wildlife
corridors between the Green Mountains and the Champlain Valley. It also
serves as core reproduction habitat for many species. Now, six years later,
we have an opportunity to ad to this conserved land and are embarking on
another important conservation effort….the “Wolfrun Natural Area Gateway”.

The Gateway project will add 125 wild and diverse acres to the Wolfrun
Natural Area. Multiple beaver ponds, craggy rock faces and steep, forested
hillside combine to offer exceptional wildlife habitat and dramatic beauty.
The “Gateway” property adjoins Wolfrun and stretches south along Stage Road,
making it a vulnerable location for housing development. This land also
connects to 1700 acres of conserved, privately owned land in Richmond and is
almost directly across the road from the conserved 403 acre “Preston Pond”
property in Bolton. Trails run throughout all the properties. The “Gateway”
is a vital land connection for wildlife and humans alike. The Wolfrun
Natural Area has never had a “gateway” entrance for those who seek to walk
its rugged trails or simply enjoy nature. It is landlocked, far from Stage
Road and difficult to get to. With this purchase, JULT will own two entrance
points from Stage Road and access will be much easier. We will also be able
to conserve the extraordinarily beautiful Moose Pond in its entirety. No
longer will we fear a house planted in prime bear habitat and extending its
backyard into the water…forever ruining a pristine location. The Gateway
project will further protect Wolfrun’s essential habitat by acting as a
buffer along busy Stage Rd. In addition, it will give us all a better
opportunity to enjoy nature in a wonderfully quiet and remote setting.

How much will the “Gateway” land cost? The 125 acre property, with multiple
potential house sites, has an appraised value of $435,000. Of that, $369,000
will be funded through the Forest Legacy program for the Chittenden County
Uplands. This is federal money handled by the state to permanently protect
important forested parcels in this area. Unfortunately time is short! JULT
will need to raise $66,000 plus project costs to complete the purchase this
summer. This is an exceptional opportunity to further protect a wild and
beautiful place …forever. Please take a look at the newsletter’s back panel
for information about supporting the “Gateway” project. Thank you.

JULT Names Donated Land
 
After much discussion, the board members of the Jericho Underhill Land Trust decided on a name for the 280 acres of forest and field that we received from the Snyder Companies in October.  This working landscape, with sweeping vistas of Mt. Mansfield and Camels Hump, is now called Kikas Valley Farm.  Kikas (pronounced Keekas) is the Abenaki name for the month of May and it means “field planter” We wanted to honor this land’s long history of cultivation and its use as a hunting and gathering site for early Indian settlement.  The University of Maine has discovered artifacts dating back over 9,000 years during their recent archeological work on this property. JULT has donated a conservation easement to the Vermont Land Trust which protects this important landscape forever.

If you would like to visit Kikas Valley Farm, please take Skunk Hollow Road in Jericho to Tyler Place. Continue into the Wingate development and park at the small gravel parking area on the left just prior to the first house. You ca park here and walk the perimeter of the fields and follow trails into the woods.  Trails are open for non-motorized use and enjoyment.  Please stay clear of tractor work and the heavy equipment associated with home building.

Casey’s Hill - Saved

Casey’s Hill, the unique natural landmark and famous sledding hill, was purchased on July 21, 2005 for the Town of Underhill by the Jericho Underhill Land Trust (JULT). The Town has donated a conservation easement on this property to the Vermont Land Trust (VLT) which ensures that no development will ever take place and that winter sliding will be enjoyed for generations to come.

Almost two years ago, the landowner contacted JULT with the need to sell this precious land but the desire to preserve it also. The transaction proved to be lengthy and complex as there were multiple parties involved and significant fundraising needed. JULT contacted the VLT to discuss a partnership and fundraising opportunities. Following an appraisal process and discussions with a neighboring landowner, a fundraising goal of $245,000 was established. The Town of Underhill has leased and managed this private land for over eleven years and appeared to be the logical new owner of Casey’s Hill. However, this decision needed to be confirmed by popular vote. Two informational meetings were held in August and September 2004 and town residents were asked to vote on accepting the property and providing $20,000 in funding. Both ballot items were overwhelmingly approved on September 7, 2004.

Jericho Underhill Land Trust began a local fundraising campaign for $75,000 in November 2004. A simple sign was established to mark our progress at Casey’s Hill. Within three and a half months, this goal was achieved, even exceeded. This outpouring of community support demonstrated the importance of this favorite sliding hill. A silent auction, gourmet dinner, teen concert and profits from a CD sale all contributed to this exceptional financial support.

JULT and VLT collaborated on several grant opportunities and were successful on a number of them. The Vermont Housing and Conservation Board approved $100,000 on December 10, 2004. The Kelsey Trust, Pizzagalli Construction, the Pecor family and the Merchants Bank Foundation were major contributors as well. Within six months, $212,000 had been raised. This funding was sufficient to begin drafting the conservation easement, the document that would permanently protect Casey’s Hill. JULT and VLT met several times with the Underhill Selectboard in order to craft language which reflected Town wishes and management concerns. An Interim Management Plan was created as well. Finally, a closing date of July 21, 2005 was established and this magic day was on a number of calendars. Two landowners, the Town and representatives from both land trusts met to handle this complex transaction. Almost two years of work by JULT was completed in just two hours that afternoon. Casey’s Hill was saved.

JULT could not have accomplished this preservation work without strong membership support and a community that cherishes its important landscape. Without your help, a scenic gateway and traditional sliding hill would have been lost to development. Thank you!

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