If you know any of the members of Vermont River Conservancy’s conservation team, you know that we don’t discriminate in our love of wild places. Our camera rolls are full of not just rivers but also deserts, oceans, woodlands, and bogs. We’ve been known to roam the mountains for days at a time, kitted out with backpacks and binoculars; we’ve also been known to crouch on a city sidewalk for a better look at whatever plants are pushing up through the cracks. As individuals, we appreciate nature in all its forms, but in our roles here at Vermont River Conservancy our daily work is focused on protecting and restoring rivers in particular. So what happens when we are presented with a conversation opportunity that doesn’t exactly include our namesake natural feature?
Back in October of 2023, Vermont River Conservancy got a call from Jenny Ramstetter of Green Mountain Conservancy about an emerging opportunity in Marlboro, VT. A 197-acre forested parcel was up for sale, and GMC was ready to apply for funding and make an offer – but only if they could find a partner they trusted to hold a conservation easement.
A beaver pond at the soon-to-be-preserved Old Oaks Headwaters Preserve in Marlboro, Vermont. Photo by Hayley Kolding.
“It’s an amazing place,” Jenny told us, “at the headwaters of Harrisville Brook and Pond Brook, which flow into the Green River. Parts of it haven’t been logged in over a hundred years.”
There were yellow birches at this place that were so old that the shining bark of their youth had turned scaly and thick like the bark of an old sugar maple. And maples there were – wise old ones – and black cherries and oaks. There were rocky ledges where bobcats denned, and hemlock stands where porcupines roamed. Jenny told us of beaver wetlands at various stages of succession, a grove of beech trees preferred by the resident black bears, and a mysterious and beautiful red spruce-cinnamon fern swamp, uncommon in Vermont and full of extraordinary plant life. She said that walkers, runners, cross-country skiers, and snow-shoers traveled through these woods often on a decades-old network of trails.
We checked out the site’s rankings in the Vermont Conservation Design framework.
- Interior forest blocks: priority.
- Geological diversity: priority.
- Wetlands: highest priority.
- Connectivity: highest priority.
Forested headwaters absorb more precipitation than cleared or developed headwaters and significantly reduce runoff, ultimately lowering flood intensities downstream. Old Oaks Headwaters, Marlboro, Vermont. Photo by Hayley Kolding.
The site was adjacent to over 1,000 acres of undeveloped forest and was part of the Harrisville forest block, which includes more than 3,000 acres. Excited, we agreed that this land was a high priority for conservation and a top-notch spot to protect public recreation, too. There was just one problem: it didn’t have any rivers.
We had to do some thinking: was this project in Marlboro a fit for VRC?
Especially in light of the major flooding of the last two years, we get dozens of calls per year from folks asking us to partner in conserving their land. As much as we would love to say “yes” to all of them, as a small (though mighty!) team, we’ve had to be intentional about which projects we take on and which we say no to.
So how do we decide? By running each potential conservation project through a series of questions that aim to identify whether or not it is a match for our strategic priorities. Questions that get at the specifics of the land and the ecological and flood resilience benefits of the property.
Chelone glabra or “turtlehead.” Old Oaks Headwaters Preserve in Marlboro, Vermont. Photo by Hayley Kolding.
In the case of the property in Marlboro, this included a deep-dive lit review. (Alright, not formally – but what else should I call the research we embarked on?!) Picture one light blazing bright as your local Conservation Manager leans over their laptop, researching the role of forested headwaters in river protection as coyotes howl their midnight howls outside the window. Picture twenty-five tabs open at once, a whole string of them lined up along the top of the browser window, with scientific literature from New England and from comparable landscapes – namely, montane forested ecosystems with a history of large-scale clearing – in other parts of the country and the world.
Through our reading, we learned that the local hydrologic and water quality benefits of forested headwaters translate to healthier water and reduced flood risks downstream. Because forested headwaters absorb more precipitation than cleared or developed headwaters, they significantly reduce runoff, ultimately lowering flood intensities. And because their rooted vegetation, organic soils, and complex forest floor microtopography work together to reduce soil erosion, they guard against excess sediment loads, thus helping to prevent the extreme scouring and down-cutting that we see in river systems with deforested headwaters. Other papers affirmed the familiar point that headwater forests keep water temperatures cooler and reduce nitrogen loads, with beaver activity enhancing these benefits.
Beaver wetlands at various stages of succession are just one of the ecologial and flood-resilience benefits evident at Old Oaks Headwaters Preserve in Marlboro, Vermont. Photo by Hayley Kolding.
We decided that it was only right for Vermont River Conservancy to protect this forest in Marlboro where water takes the shape of groundwater seeps, swamps, and streams so small you can step across them. Headwaters may not rage, rush, or wander like our named rivers – but riverlands they are and as riverlands they must be protected.
The land in Marlboro will be called the Old Oaks Headwaters Preserve. Green Mountain Conservancy has raised an impressive $421,387 towards the purchase price of this essential riverland. $147,00 remains to be raised, after which VRC will be able to place a conservation easement and protect it forever. If you are moved to support clean water, flood resilience, public recreation, and wildlife habitat through the conservation of this land, you can contribute directly to GMC’s acquisition costs by sending a check to Green Mountain Conservancy, P.O. Box 301, W. Dummerston, VT 05357 or online at www.greenmountainconservancy.org.