MLT property has unique features

#Middlebury

Janine Sullivan-Wiley and dogs Sadie and Gatsby enjoy exploring the Middlebury Land Trust’s recent acquisition at 312 Park Road Extension. An October geocaching class there had to be postponed due to the weather. (Kent Sullivan-Wiley photo)

By JANINE SULLIVAN-WILEY

Mother Nature intervened with the first nor’easter of the season, postponing the public introduction to the newest Middlebury Land Trust (MLT) property during the planned October geocaching event. The event will be rescheduled to the spring. But this writer did promise to tell you more about the property in general, so here it is.

A clear entrance – an actual driveway at 312 Park Road Extension – distinguishes it from other MLT properties. That is doubly valuable as Peter North, MLT vice president, noted because it also gives easier access to another MLT property, the Sperry Pond/Juniper Hill preserve.

Prior to this acquisition, the only entrance to Sperry Pond was by the stone pillars on Straits Turnpike with almost no parking and a not-always-safe pull-off on a busy road. You likely will love this new access point! You’ll find it on the right side of the road about 6/10 of a mile from Straits Turnpike after you pass woods on the right and the former Timex world headquarters with L Restaurant on the left.

An unusual attribute is that the property also has a house and garage. They provide something else the MLT needed badly, space to act as headquarters for meetings, with an office and storage space for maps, files and records.

In many ways, the property is still rather “unimproved” – neither the driveway nor the aforementioned parking are paved. The wide trail linking that location with the Juniper Hill Preserve also is in rustic condition, as it is still unblazed and tree trunks lie across the path in two places. Stay right to get to Sperry Pond.

This acquisition is consistent with MLT acquisition guidelines (important in a land trust that is pursuing accreditation) in that it expands on existing properties. Its 8.3 acres are adjacent to the 130-acre Sperry Pond/ Juniper Hill tract and another 22 acres of property protected by easement.

The parcel also contains “farmland of statewide importance” in an open, one-acre field, and a sliver of wooded wetland along the eastern boundary (not visible from the trail). It has lovely second-growth forest.

Students of geology or habitat types will find those features well described in the management reports that have been prepared for this as well as all of the MLT properties. For example, the report on this parcel notes that the bedrock geology is Waterbury Gneiss (bad geology pun: there is “nice” Waterbury rock in there.) This writer has always hoped local science classes or individual science projects would make use of some of the detailed information in the reports.

The house, adjacent barn, and the trails still need quite a bit of improvement to bring the property to its full potential. The MLT would welcome people interested in volunteering to help with tasks such as painting. Actually, anyone interested in work days for this property, removing invasives from other properties or helping in any other way is encouraged to contact the MLT through its website at www.middleburylandtrust.org or email this writer at jswspotlight@gmail.com.