IX. Land Stewardship

Policies & Principles Environmental Council Environmental Studies Program Fellowships in Environmental Journalism Archives

College lands provide an environment of great beauty and tranquillity which enhances the educational experience. Through sound management and stewardship of its valuable land resource, the College demonstrates practicable conservation and recognizes and seeks to preserve the values of diverse ecosystems. 1. CAMPUS, including athletic fields and golf course
The College maintains a biologically diverse campus landscape including over 300 acres of campus, athletic fields, and golf course. Choice of type and species of vegetation is influenced by the degree of human impact and by the needs and desires of the College community. Maintenance variations and informal buffers of natural plant communities are utilized to delineate the campus proper from the surrounding lands characterized by lower use levels. These provisions and policies tend to concentrate human impact to a core of campus, athletic fields, and golf course. The College subscribes to the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to plant pest control. This entails the limiting of vectors for infestation and growth and includes planting resistant species, limiting monocultures, limiting the introduction of pests, and generally providing for a healthy horticultural environment. When pesticides must be applied to protect the beauty of the campus and the safety of our students, we employ the least toxic chemicals sufficient to meet the need. Pesticide applications are performed or supervised by our own State Certified Applicators and are governed by State regulations. Material safety data sheets (MSDS) are available for inspection at Campus Security. 2. FARMLANDS
The College owns over 1600 acres of farmland of which more than 1150 are contiguous to the campus. It maintains a "working farm" landscape with its associated environmental, social, and economic values. Farmland is under long-term lease to farmers, with the intent of improving the land and increasing its yielding capacity by means of a good cropping program and good cultural practices. Lessees are not permitted to employ pesticides with long-term residual effects in the soil. Participation in federal cost-sharing and farm subsidy programs requires adherence to the conservation plan prepared by the Natural Resources Conservation District (NRCD) for each applicant. Some smaller parcels are maintained by farmers under informal verbal agreements. Other open lands not under lease, such as the 85 acres of Bread Loaf meadowland, are annually "bushhogged" in order to retain the biodiversity and aesthetic values they provide. 3. FOREST LANDS
The College's 4000 acres of forest include 200 acres contiguous to the main campus and 1000 acres surrounding the Bread Loaf campus. The College places prime importance on the forest's intrinsic values including aesthetics, biological diversity, and wildlife habitat, which provide for a rich inspirational, recreational, and educational experience. These values are protected and enhanced through the practice of sustainable forestry which utilizes and maintains the productive capacity of the land. Periodic timber harvests improve stand quality and spacing, reduce losses to natural mortality, stimulate growth, and provide conditions favorable for natural regeneration. Harvesting is conducted in a judicious manner to protect the residual stand and existing regeneration. Forestry operations adhere to all applicable state and federal regulations. Buffer strips of a width sufficient to protect stream habitat are retained in riparian areas, such as the lands adjacent to the South Branch of the Middlebury River in Ripton. Wildlife is favored by the retention of snags, nest, and den trees, as well as certain mast trees including bear-clawed beech, hop hornbeam, black cherry, and oak. Several unique areas are held as forest reserves. These include about 200 acres of riparian lands along the Middlebury River and Otter Creek. In addition, the 100 acre Abbey Lot in Middlebury, an example of hemlock-northern hardwoods "climax" forest, is retained as a natural preserve and study area. In addition, uncommon vegetation types are identified and maintained when recognized. Some lands of significant ecological value have been transferred to the Nature Conservancy, including, most recently, a gift of 37 acres of woodland in the Cornwall Swamp. 4. STATE and FEDERAL REGULATIONS A.- Pesticide use - as per Title 6 VSA, Chapter 87, Section 1102-1104. B.- the State's Acceptable Management Practices (AMP's) are Vermont's approach to complying both with Section 208 of the Federal Water Pollution Act and with Vermont's Water Quality Statutes (Title 10 VSA, Section 1259). AMP's are particularly concerned with erosion control and are intended to have the force of law. C.- The Slash Removal law (Title 10, Section 2648) governs the treatment of logging slash near boundary lines and public rights-of-way. D.- Vermont Wetlands Rules (Title 10, Chapter 37, Section 905) identify and protect significant wetlands and their values. Forest Management is an allowed use in Class I or II wetlands if it complies with AMP's and with silvicultural standards for deer wintering yards. E. - Stream alteration or modification (Title 10, Sections 1021 and 1025) F. - Protection of endangered species (Title 10, Chapter 123, Section 5401) G.- Timber trespass (Title 10, Chapter 77, Section 3606) H. - Logging above 2500 feet elevation (Title 10, Sections 6001 (3) and 6081) 5. RECOMMENDATIONS A. - That College lands and their associated resources be entered in a Geographic Information System (GIS) data base through a cooperative effort among College land administrators, the Geography Department, and other interested academic departments. A GIS data base will aid land management and planning and will facilitate the academic use of College lands. B. - That there be wider communication between faculty and land administrators with a view towards fostering greater utilization of the land resource for academic purposes, including student involvement in a complete natural resource inventory. C. - That we continue to keep abreast of research on environmentally benign pesticides and on the latest technology for minimizing use of pesticides. D. - That we consider purchasing locally produced soil amendments for use on College lands until such time as we are able to solve the logistical and financial problems associated with our own composting operation. E. - That we encourage organic and sustainable agriculture on College farmlands. F. - That where adjoining ownership occurs, the College cooperate with the U.S. Forest Service in joint projects to restore aquatic habitat and implement streambank revegetation and stream monitoring activities. Land Stewardship Subcommittee
Samantha D. Abeyratne '98
Timothy V. Bouton, Supervisor, Landscape and General Service Personnel,
Facilities Management
Alexander P. Lee '97
Bryan T. Merrill, Crew Chief, Athletic Fields, Facilities Management
Stephen W. Weber, Chair

APPENDIX - Middlebury College Lands Summary

Revised 4/14/95

Location	Total Acres	Wood Lands	Farm Lands	Campus	House Acres	Athletic Fields	Other
Albany	160.00	160.00	-	-	-	-	-
Bristol	56.68	56.68	-	-	-	-	-
Cornwall	463.86	49.97	386.88	-	5.01	-	22.00
Hancock	763.00	672.00	-	-	-	-	91.00
Leister	119.00	105.00	-	-	4.00	-	10.00
Lincoln	158.00	133.00	20.00	-	5.00	-	-
Middlebury	2150.19	593.17	960.15	133.20	48.64	62.50	352.53
New Haven	465.20	292.90	152.30	-	-	-	20.00
Ripton	2140.45	2020.42	84.00	22.00	10.03	-	4.00
Waitsfield	31.39	31.39	-	-	-	-	-
Weybridge	233.59	3.17	151.12	-	2.00	-	7.30
New Jersey	39.49	6.96	24.50	-	1.50	-	6.53
TOTALS	6780.85	4194.66	1778.95	155.20	76.18	62.50	513.36