Vermont family permanently protects more than 18,000 acres from development
The Meyer family has placed over 18,000 acres of forest land in Vermont under conservation easements to prevent development. This initiative ensures the land remains a working forest while protecting its ecological character for future generations.
Why it matters
Private land conservation is a critical strategy for maintaining biodiversity and preventing habitat fragmentation in the face of increasing development pressures.
Growing up in Hardwick on a dairy farm, woods were a major part of Andrew Meyer's life. He would often spend time camping and hiking around East Long Pond and as a kid, he visited logging jobs in the area of the Worcester Range with his grandfather or uncle.A history of sustainable timber managementMeyer said his family’s been managing the woods as a working forest since the 1950s, when his grandfather started purchasing land in the region. Hugo Meyer began buying abandoned farmland after World War II to reforest it for timber. In the decades since, the family has owned and managed thousands of acres in and around the Worcester Range, maintaining the land as a working forest.
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