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The Nulhegan and Victory Basin Wildland is the largest relatively
undeveloped watershed area within Vermont’s Northern Forest.
With over 200,000 acres protected through full-fee acquisition and
conservation easement, the Wildland provides the state’s best
opportunity to maintain extensive tracts of forest in a natural
condition, and to conserve an entire watershed.
The area teems with wildlife, drawn by the rich diversity of plants,
wetlands and forests, and is a haven to wildlife enthusiasts of
all kinds. Hunters are drawn by the abundant game, including moose.
Anglers can catch wild brook trout, record landlocked salmon and
other game-fish. Mountain bikers are becoming more common as they
discover the trails and logging roads that crisscross the Wildland’s
smaller mountains.
Approximate
Acreage: 390,000 acres
Location:
The Nulhegan and Victory Basin Wildland encompasses the extensive
undeveloped lands in the Northeast Kingdom, from the Canadian border
south to the Victory Bog area, and from the edge of the Connecticut
River west to Lake Willoughby.
Lakes:
• Lake Willoughby,
• Seymour Lake,
• The Averill Lakes,
• Maidstone Lake
• Numerous smaller and
largely undeveloped ponds.
The Nulhegan and Victory Basin Wildland offer Vermont’s finest
examples of clean and undeveloped watersheds. The entire Nulhegan
and Paul Stream watershed and the Moose River north of Concord are
pristine enough to deserve an Outstanding Water Resource classification
from the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources as well as Class 1A
waters. Waterways include the Nulhegan, Moose, Clyde, and Connecticut
Rivers, and Paul Stream.
Mountains:
• Umpire Mountain
• Burke Mountain
• East Mountain
• Mount Pisgah
• Mount Hor
• Mount Monadnock
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Plant Communities:
• High concentration of rare plants and animals listed by the
Natural Heritage Program
• Alpine plants on Mount Pisgah
Extensive and diverse wetlands in Victory, Yellow and Ferdinand Bogs
• Home to state threatened plants
Habitat and Animal Life:
• Loon, peregrine falcons, osprey, herons, spruce-grouse,
black-backed and three-toed woodpeckers
• State’s largest deer wintering yard
• Vermont’s most extensive moose and bear habitat
• Potential habitat for lynx and cougar
• Habitat for rare mammals
Outstanding Recreation:
• Outstanding freshwater fishing
• Excellent hunting and trapping
• Nationally recognized mountain biking
Protected Lands:
• Nulhegan Basin Unit of the Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife
Refuge
• West
Mountain Wildlife Management Area Several mid-sized blocks of
public land, including the Victory and Willoughby State Forests and
the Victory Bog and Bill Sladyk Wildlife Management Areas
• Over 124,000 acres of timberlands protected from development
while continuing sustainable forestry
Existing Development:
• Narrow highway corridors (Route 102, 105, 111 and 114)
• Extensive areas without permanent population
Current Conservation Opportunities:
• Protect and expand roadless cores in West Mountain Wildlife
Management Area and the Nulhegan Basin Unit of the Silvio O. Conte
National Wildlife Refuge
• Monadnock Mountain
• Sheridan Mountain
• Nulhegan Basin Inholdings
• Victory State Forest expansions
• West Mountain Wildlife Management Area inholdings
Current Community Involvement:
• Residents working as a group called Keepers of the Kingdom
are promoting sustainable economic development in communities bordering
the former Champion Land, and are striving to link conservation and
economic development
• The Trails Work Group is promoting non-motorized trails in
the Northeast Kingdom
• The
Northeast Kingdom Section of the Green Mountain Club is looking
into the possibility of a long-distance hiking trail from Burke Mountain
to Monadnock Mountain
• The Vermont
Leadership Center is using the Northeast Kingdom Conservation
Corps to build and improve hiking trails in the Northeast Kingdom |
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