Jan 08, 2015. /Lesprom Network/. The Vermont Land Trust (VLT) purchased 5,600 acres of forestland that has been owned for more than 60 years by the Deer Lake Timber Company, a family-owned company with deep ties to Vermont. The purchase has sparked an extensive effort to conserve more than 19,000 acres through both easement donations from private landowners and funding from the federal Forest Legacy program, as the company said in the press release received by Lesprom Network.

“Opportunities like this don’t come along very often,” said Gil Livingston, President of VLT. “We feel fortunate to be able to help Vermont make the long-term protection of important forestland possible.”

The land, known locally as Worcester Woods, is located along both sides of Route 12 between Worcester and Elmore. In addition to its value to the timber economy, the conservation of this forestland will protect a large block of internationally significant habitat that connects the Green Mountains, to the Northeast Kingdom, and Quebec's Gaspe Peninsula.

“It is the combination of the forethought by the former owners of Deer Lake Timber and conservation tools like the Federal Forest Legacy program and the generosity of easement donors that make something of this scale remotely possible,” said Livingston.