Raven Ridge Preserved
by Nancy Wood
Wednesday, May 5, 2010...

The Nature Conservancy announced today the completion of the purchase of the Raven Ridge Preserve. “It’s been a long time coming,” said an elated Joan Allen, Associate Director of Land Protection who is the project manager of the Raven Ridge conservation effort. The closing on the purchase took place late Tuesday at the office of local Attorney David Rath in Hinesburg. The effort was coordinated and funded through a partnership of the Nature Conservancy, the Vermont Land Trust and the Charlotte Land Trust. The Raven Ridge Preserve, now owned by The Nature Conservancy, stretches from Lewis Creek south along a scenic ridge on the boundary of Charlotte and Hinesburg to a large wetland complex in Monkton.

Allen said that the 362 acre preserve, which straddles the three towns of Monkton, Hinesburg and Charlotte, is an “incredibly diverse property, with high rocky ledges where ravens nest, gorgeous streams that flow into Lewis Creek, and a nursery for the federally endangered Indiana bat in a dry oak, hickory, hornbeam forest.”

The $1.2 million deal was funded through a variety of sources, including the generous donation of 162 acres in Charlotte and Hinesburg by Raven Davis and Ed Everts, a $500,000 federal grant through the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, $217,000 from the Vermont housing and Conservation Board, $40,000 from the Charlotte Land Trust, close to $80,000 in private donations, and grants from the three municipalities: $15,000 each from Charlotte and Monkton (the first grant ever from their conservation fund) and $20,000 from Hinesburg. The funds were used to purchase the 200 acres in Hinesburg, and for survey costs, subdivision and wastewater permits, and other expenses.

According to Allen, the federal grant requires a management plan that will be developed over the next several months. A UVM graduate class has been helping to draft the plan. In the meantime the preserve is open to the public to enjoy. Access is off Rotax Road in Monkton.