Hurteau River Corridor Easement

Fairfax, Vermont

Lamoille River

Paddlers’ Trail Campsite

Wildlife & Watershed Protection

Paddlers’ Trail Campsite

Paddling Access

Protected wetlands let the Lamoille River move and shift in high water and a campsite for multi-day paddling trips on the Lamoille River.

Has bathroom Dogs allowed

! Special considerations: The paddlers' campsite here is only accessible via the Lamoille River. No access via land. Please respect private landowners.

Public access: Yes
Caretaker: Vermont River Conservancy

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Hurteau River Corridor Easement Fairfax, Vermont Lamoille River

Hurteau River Corridor Easement

Many moons ago, the Lamoille River — like all rivers — carved a different path than it does today. There’s proof here on these two-dozen acres sandwiched between the banks of the Lamoille and Goose Pond. Seen from above, it’s clear that Goose Pond wasn’t always a pond. The “pond” is the curving remains of the Lamoille River’s old channel, but the Lamoille hasn’t entirely moved on from its old path. After heavy rains, the Lamoille reclaims its old path, overflowing onto the land between the river and pond, creating a vibrant and temporary wetland. This seasonal flooding creates important bird and wildlife habitat, and also helps slow the river to prevent flood damage to downstream homes and roads.

We protected this area with an easement to make sure the Lamoille would always be able to move and change over time, and to make sure that riverside trees and shrubs would be allowed to grow-up naturally, helping to keep soils from washing downstream. The landowner can continue to plant and harvest black walnuts from the land, wildlife have better habitat, and downstream homes and roads are more protected from flooding.