MONTPELIER – Scott Bassage and Charlotte Hanna conserved 223 acres of forest, wetlands and headwater streams in East Calais, the Vermont Land Trust (VLT) has announced. The protected property includes nearly a mile of a major tributary of Pekin Brook, which flows into the Winooski River, and creates a 350-acre block of conserved land.
photo by Vermont Land Trust
Located alongside Route 14 with westerly views of the Worcester Range, the mostly-forested property has softwood, hemlock, northern hardwood and almost 30 acres of northern white cedar. There are several large wetlands along the Pekin Brook tributary where beavers are active, and three vernal pools. The conserved forests and wetlands will support a range of wildlife, including salamanders and wood frogs, and rare plants, such as round-lobed sundew and Kalm’s lobelia.
The land abuts Hoolie Flats Farm, a property with frontage on Pekin Brook that was conserved by VLT in 2017. The two conserved properties now form a block of over 350 acres of protected land adjacent to the brook and its tributary, which will absorb and slow water during heavy rains.
photo by Vermont Land Trust
A 2010 assessment of the Pekin Brook watershed co-authored by the Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission identified the lack of riparian buffer as a major problem, and recommended protections for the river corridor and establishment of floodplain vegetation. The 350-acre block includes special protections for streamside and wetland areas, both along Pekin Brook and its tributary, to support natural vegetation and reduce erosion.
The project was funded in part by a contribution from the Town of Calais’s conservation fund, which has supported a dozen projects since the 1980s. This is the largest forested property the town’s conservation fund has helped protect. The project aligns with Vermont’s goal to conserve 30% of its land by 2030, a vision supported by the Town of Calais and its conservation commission.
The property has been in the Bassage family since the 1950s, when they acquired a small parcel and added to it over the years. Bassage and Hanna say they donated a conservation easement to VLT to ensure the land will remain in its natural state into the future.
“I’ve known this land all my life, and I love the idea that it will be undisturbed,” Bassage said.
