There are certain things that confuse transplants to small towns like Vernon, take for instance that long timers talk about parcels of land in terms of who owns them instead of where they are located. Don is a good one for this and being the eager fool that I am, I nod at him as if I understand what the heck he is talking about. If I could get over pretending about these sorts of things, Wayne and I would save ourselves a lot of time and trouble.
The first that I heard of Lillis Pasture, Don had put out the word that we should write letters requesting that the state acquire it as part of Roaring Brook Wildlife Management Area. I dutifully complied though I didn't exactly know where Jordan Weinstein's property was. I did know what a pasture was however, so how off base could my petition be? I still cringe thinking about someone at the state level reading my words about how the pasture is valuable habitat for field nesting birds. I could explain to you why this is cringe worthy on so many levels, but suffice to say, never assume that a historical name is an accurate representation of what remains.
It was after that letter, that I set out to discover the exact location of Lillis Pasture, only to find a heavily posted road to no place in particular on the opposite side of the open fields on Tyler Hill. It would be more than two years later, that Wayne and I decided that we should risk another trip on Lillis Pasture Rd.
There being no place pull off on Lillis Pasture Road, we decided to park in the pull off on Tyler Hill and walk the quarter mile up to it. There is in the woods just off of the road two posts which seem to mark an old entrance to the area. But these woods leading up to Lillis Pasture Rd are posted no trespassing.
It was with some trepidation we turned up the unfriendly little road. Though it is not labeled as a private road, the length of it's left side is fastidiously posted
and appears to terminate as either a private drive or at a gate.
Lillis Pasture road is a state legal trail in Vernon; but there aren't any state markers identifying is as such.
Vermont Fish and Wildlife also claims that the 400 acre Lillis Pasture parcel enjoys easy access to it.
We have in the past, hiked two additional trails that could have led us to Lillis Pasture; we've hiked from 142 past Miller Farm and up Tyler Hill on VAST trail 1A, and we've hiked on VAST trail 1 which connects to the town forest. Both trails can be viewed on
this map. In retrospect, had we thought to consult this map on this hike, we would have saved ourselves from walking in circles on Tyler Hill.
Determined to find an easy access into the area, not wanting to meet up with the dogs and being on foot, we decided to walk past the gate.
When we came out on the other side of this trail (as we always do), we looked back at the signs posted as if we were traveling in the opposite direction. Good Grief!
Whatever transgression that we may have made was behind us now. Going forward there were other signs.
These are the places where Wayne and I have passionate discussions and where I hope that nobody is within earshot of us. I voted that we go to the left; but Wayne felt that was the way to Miller Farm. I tried to describe to him that time when hiking from the farm. We came across a sign after crossing a brook where I took pictures of moss and ferns. We hiked up a rocky hill trail and I wondered about the winter views. There was a trail diamond on a fallen tree and snow fleas there....we heard ATVs in the distance...there was a sign that said Lillis Pasture and Tyler Hill and we went the other way. Honestly, I don't know why it is that Wayne stares blankly at me sometimes! The matter was decided, we went to the right.
A closeup on the VAST map shows the intersection at the end of Lillis Pasture Rd.
Here is the OnX map showing (with dashes) the trail that we took. Note that the shaded areas are state lands. Is one of these shaded areas is Lillis Pasture?
This is what the area looks like from the trail.
Signs that we are still on the trail come in all forms. Here we found a discarded snowmobile bridge.
Eastern hemlock and White pine trees.
An attempt show the depth of a fissure with my pole
Ice shows the path where water crosses the trail during the melt. It is below 30 degrees on the trail here; but this area will be full of mud with warming days ahead.
We have become unaccustomed to living among old growth trees. For this reason, Identification of an old birch tree can be confusing.
To add to the confusion, here is the same birch growing up through the crown of a White pine.
We noticed several areas where bark had been scraped away by logging equipment.
Another old growth identification
I wonder if these old trees are left in place as seed trees.
On the left of the trail there is a stand of hemlock and pine. On the right is a relatively young hardwood stand.
Areas managed for wildlife will use logging as a tool to create successional growth. Successional growth promotes biodiversity.
Vermont Fish and Wildlife values deer yards within the Lillis Pasture parcel.
Mature conifers with shrubs, berries, fields and water nearby are key components of a deer yard. Just seven to eight percent of Vermont's forests make up deer yards with deer traveling ten to fifteen miles to winter there. (VF&W, White Tailed Deer)
The trail ran straight into Interstate 91. Developed areas create barriers to plants and wildlife, stifling biodiversity by limiting resources and the exchange of genetics. Protecting existing corridors and reestablishing wildlife corridors are described as priorities in the Vernon Town Plan. Preventing forest fragmentation and creating connections between parcels of conserved lands like those held by the Roaring Brook Wildlife Management in cooperation with private landowners must be the future of conservation.
"We now live in a world in which habitat-places that provide both food and shelter for plants and animals- is so fragmented, and those fragments are so isolated from one another, that they are hemorrhaging species at an alarming rate...but it is such an important phenomenon, and so central to why we need to sustain biodiversity outside of our parks as well as inside." (Natures Best Hope by Douglas W. Tallamy, pp 47)
From here the trail paralleled I-91. With no option to head south, we were forced to either head towards Tyler Hill or backtrack to Lillis Pasture rd.
It was on this leg of the trail, that Wayne counted six deer on the move. I was able to photograph only one of them.
Can you see it?
We may not always end up where we thought that we were going; but we always seem to arrive where we ought to be. -Norma Manning
Post note:
Martin when answering my question on what a single legal trail was, responded with, "There are actually a couple of other legal trails in town, which you can find on the
highway map. One is at the end of West Road, and one is at the end of Lily Pond Road (it swings left at the beginning of Renaud's driveway and runs west of Lilly Pond)."
No comments:
Post a Comment