courtesy illustration
Janet Stewart and Ray Shatney have sold a conservation easement on 154 Acres in Greensboro Bend to the Vermont Land Trust.
by Clive Gray, Community Journalist
GREENSBORO BEND – At the end of May, Janet Stewart and Ray Shatney sold a conservation easement on 154 acres on Route 16 in Greensboro Bend to the Vermont Land Trust (VLT). This was land on which Stewart and Shatney had developed a farm featuring Highland Cattle, for which their animals have won many prizes over the years. Recently Stewart and Shatney have transferred most of their herd to Plainfield.
The Freeman Foundation financed 90 percent of the easement’s cost, with the Greensboro Land Trust (GLT) picking up the remainder. Stewart and Shatney donated an option to purchase at agricultural value on a 29-acre hayfield on Young Road, part of the original farm, which was conserved in 2004.
The conservation project establishes a new public trail network. VLT has indicated its readiness to work with the GLT to activate this network. The project includes significant protection for streams and wetlands on the property. VLT has agreed to develop a riparian restoration and tree planting plan for the area, involving a volunteer planting day (likely next spring).
