Ecological Assessment/Natural Resources Inventory – Boyce Hill Town Forest, Fayston, VT
In December 2019, the Town of Fayston accepted a 93-acre gift of land in North Fayston, permanently conserving the parcel with a Vermont Land Trust (VLT) easement and officially creating the Boyce Hill Town Forest. The Fayston Conservation Commission, in partnership with the Select Board and the Vermont Land Trust, drafted an Interim Management Plan that defines temporary permitted uses and restrictions for the land.
In the Spring of 2020, we formed a Steering Committee to engage the community in creating a long-term management plan.
2020 was planned as a learning year, in which we hoped to set a solid foundation for protecting the valued natural and cultural resources of the property. As part of the learning, we commissioned an ecologist from Dubois and King to conduct a Natural Resources Inventory/Ecological Assessment of Boyce Hill Town Forest. This is a critical piece of our long term planning process.
Inventory, Outreach
In the late Fall of 2020, Dubois and King completed "An Ecological Assessment and Natural Resources Inventory of Boyce Hill Town Forest, Fayston, VT." This document is a critical component of our learning about the property and its natural communities, wildlife and water resources. We will use this document as a baseline for balancing the conservation of natural resources and the high recreational demands of the Town Forest as we move through the long term management planning process.
Town of Fayston
Vermont Land Trust
Fayston Conservation Commission
AVCC - funding help
The project was successful due to the diligent work and thoughtful planning process by Fayston Conservation Commission members and expertise from the Vermont Land Trust. It was also successful due to the knowledge and professionalism of Gracy Glynn, an ecologist from Dubois and King, who conducted the EA/NRI for us.
Because of the challenges encountered due to COVID restrictions, we were not able to get our resources together to get the EA/NRI completed in the early summer as we had planned. Instead, the assessment was conducted mid Fall, which was not completely ideal.