Woodbury,
United States of America
Prior to NEWT’s ownership, the parcels in the project area were owned and managed by various entities, including family-owned timber companies, investment groups, and other private ownerships that engaged in harvesting activities. The Woodbury Mountain Wilderness Preserve is recognized as Vermont’s largest non-governmental wilderness area. Among the many ecologically important features the preserve protects, the most notable may be the headwater streams of the Lamoille and Winooski Rivers, both of which are tributaries of Lake Champlain, one of Vermont’s most important watersheds. The preserve is also a key wildlife corridor in the region providing connectivity between high quality northern hardwood forests, a diversity of wetlands, and 39 miles of headwater streams. The area’s ecological importance is not only recognized by NEWT and the State of Vermont, but also by Audubon and Birdlife International, who consider the area where the project is Vermont’s only ‘Important Bird Area’ of global significance. The acquisition, protection, and participation in the carbon project will ensure birds like Winter Wrens and Blackburnian Warblers are able to thrive in Woodbury’s contiguous Northern Hardwood and Mixed Softwood Forest in an otherwise fragmented and largely managed landscape.