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The Whipstock Hill Preservation Society       -       WHIPS

 

The Whipstock Hill Preservation Society

 

Partnering with Other Conservation Organizations


Another way WHIPS accomplishes its mission of preserving important natural and scenic resources is by supporting the work of other local, regional and state conservation organizations with projects in the Whipstock Hill area. Some examples of our activities include the following:


~ We partnered with the Mount Anthony Preservation Society, a local conservation organization, and the Vermont Land Trust to preserve the Filmore Farms property, a 500-acre working dairy farm located in West Bennington. WHIPS was a major donor to this project and assisted with local fundraising. Preserving this farm was a priority, because it helps protect significant viewsheds along Vermont Route 9, both south toward Mount Anthony and north up the valley formed by the Taconic Mountains and the Green Mountains looking toward Arlington, Vermont.


~ We contributed to the preservation of the 495-acre Stearns Brothers Farm located in Breese Hollow , Town of Hoosick and across the state line in West Bennington. This farm is important because it is highly visible from Whipstock Hill and the Vermont Route 7-NY Route 9 corridor. Our partners for this project are the Castanea Foundation, a regional conservation organization, the Vermont Land Trust, and the Agricultural Stewardship Association, a local farmland preservation trust. (West End Conservation Initiative map.)


~ We helped organize the Whipstock Hill Coalition, a cooperative of hunters, foresters, private landowners and conservationists committed to ensuring the transfer of a 500-acre portion of Whipstock Hill from the Vermont Agency of Transportation, (which acquired the land to mitigate the impacts of the Bennington Bypass/Route 279 on a wintering deeryard located on Whipstock Hill), to the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. This land has been officially designated a state Wildlife Management Area open to the public for passive recreation. Preserving this parcel is important to WHIPS, because it extends from the mountain’s highly visible and scenic ridgeline down to a major portion of the Whipstock Wetlands.


~ We have contributed funds to the Hoosic River Watershed Association for its Hoosick River Greenway Project, which will establish a pathway and linear park along the Hoosick River in Hoosick Falls, New York. When completed this trail will encompass approximately 2 miles and will eventually extend along the river from the village of Hoosick Falls to Tibbits State Forest.