Project description (English)

In 2021 the town of Bolton passed new zoning laws that increased the size of their Conservation & Forest Districts to connect with existing conserved land on the south side of the Winooski River in the town of Duxbury. This newly conserved land protected a critically important north-south wildlife corridor connecting the central and northern Green Mountains. This zoning update and land protection was the result of a decade of strategic town planning and began with the multi-town Science to Action (STA) project. STA was a cooperative effort to improve the way natural resources were conserved in the neighboring towns of Bolton, Huntington, Jericho, and Richmond. The project consisted of three main stages: inventory of natural resources and community values, public education and outreach, followed by technical assistance from the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. Bolton's successful zoning updates were made possible by the partnership between their town’s Planning and Conservation Commissions. Together the Commissions launched an aggressive outreach campaign to hear from residents and incorporate the Science to Action data into their town plan.

Project description (French)

Main contact organization for the project

Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department

Partner organization(s)

Vermont Natural Resources Council

Town of Bolton

Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission

Arrowwood Environmental

Keeping Track

Part of larger network(s)

Science to Action Project

Project status

Ended

Start year of project

2011

Date of completion

2021-05-24

Primary ecosystem focus

Forested

Riparian

Connectivity action

Corridors network design

Core priority area designation

Mitigation of infrastructure impacts

Research (Field evaluation of connectivity)

Policy and governance

Land protection

Land use planning

Standard keywords

Corridors

Stepping stone

Transportation (roads, rails, bridges, culverts)

Wildlife cameras

Keywords

zoning

Taxonomic Coverage

Mammals

Geographical coverage

Jurisdiction(s)

Vermont

Chittenden

Location name

Bolton, VT

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