Babysitter Swamp

Jericho and Richmond, Vermont
Forever-Wild Easement; Completed Project

Photo © by Susan C. Morse

This 30-acre property has been the subject of intense wildlife study for more than thirty years. In 2003 it was purchased for permanent protection by naturalist and wildlife tracking expert Susan Morse, who partnered with the Northeast Wilderness Trust to place a forever-wild conservation easement on the property. Babysitter Swamp is named for the old growth hemlock and mature white pine refuge trees which provide a safe haven for bear cubs while their mothers feed in the wetlands below during the spring. Moose, mink, deer, otter, fisher, bobcat, and beaver also use the property.

The conservation of Babysitter Swamp is part of a larger, landscape-scale conservation effort known as the Chittenden County Uplands Conservation Project, which aims to conserve the ecological integrity and rural character of the northeastern uplands of rapidly growing Chittenden County. The initiative was launched in response to the massive development threat facing this area and preserve the region’s critical ecological resources and wildlife habitat. The Babysitter Swamp property is maintained as wild, is used by landowner permission for educational programs, and is managed in conjunction with two neighboring conservation parcels of several hundred acres.

• About Northeast Wilderness Trust

  The Northeast Wilderness Trust works to conserve forever-wild landscapes for nature and people. As the only land trust in the Northeast dedicated exclusively to protecting land as wilderness, the organization uses various land conservation tools and often works with conservation partners including other land trusts. The Trust protects wild places in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, eastern New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

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