Sargent Hill Wilderness Preserve Protects 200 Acres as Forever Wild in Hubbardton, Vermont
Editor’s Note: This article has been adapted from the Northeast Wilderness Trust website.
Northeast Wilderness Trust recently announced the creation of the Sargent Hill Wilderness Preserve. Located just west of the Taconic Mountains as the forested terrain begins its descent toward the Champlain Valley, the young forest of the Sargent Hill Wilderness Preserve has the opportunity to grow old with forever-wild protection. The white pines and red oaks of Sargent Hill have been given a rare gift: time.
Support for the project was provided by a generous donation of 200 acres by the Ferguson family as well as support from individual donors and The Nature Conservancy in Vermont.
The late Dick Ferguson and his wife, Hadley Ferguson, purchased this property a few years ago with the explicit intention of conserving it because of an abiding love for the land and what it represented. With help from Nancy Bell, a former longtime staff member of The Conservation Fund, the Fergusons contacted Northeast Wilderness Trust and its forever-wild conservation mission resonated.
“Our intention was always to protect this land so the wonder of wilderness could be experienced forever by the wildlife making their home here and the people who visit,” Hadley Ferguson said.
Sargent Hill Wilderness Preserve is just south of The Nature Conservancy’s 3,000+ acre High Pond Natural Area and is part of a much larger forest block that includes thousands of acres of already conserved land. The area is known as the “Greens to Adirondacks Linkage” because of its importance to wildlife movement. As the climate changes and development continues, it is imperative to protect intact and connected wildlife corridors, or wildways, so animals have the best chance to thrive long into the future.
Photo © Stephen Matter
About Northeast Wilderness Trust: Northeast Wilderness Trust conserves forever-wild landscapes for Nature and people, and it envisions a landscape of connected, resilient wildlands shared by a human culture that recognizes the benefits of wild places. It accomplishes this work by acquiring and stewarding land as forever-wild, and by holding forever-wild conservation easements on properties owned by other organizations or individuals. Northeast Wilderness Trust also champions wilderness in the public sphere. Across New England and New York, the Wilderness Trust secures wild places where Nature can thrive, wildlife can wander, and people can find beauty and quiet. Since its founding in 2002, Northeast Wilderness Trust has protected 82,071 forever-wild acres. Learn more at www.newildernesstrust.org.