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PART XIII - RECREATION, PARKS AND CONSERVATION.
The Northeast Kingdom is rich with outdoor recreational opportunities that take place on public and private land, but which often require special equipment. Indoor recreation opportunities are limited to community facilities associated with local schools, Lyndon State College, and a non-profit skating rink in Lyndon Center. Almost all Northeast Kingdom communities provide some form of recreation and leisure programs that are important focal points for community interaction. Community participation in these recreation programs helps strengthen the social capital of the community to address other community needs.
1. Community Recreation Programs.
Newport and Saint Johnsbury provide year round, professionally staffed recreation
programs. Other communities rely heavily on volunteer programs with some summer
paid assistance. Supervised summer programs in many communities may include
swimming, sports, nature exploring, drama, arts and crafts, games and contests.,
usually for school age children. Many programs are short length and do not fill
in the entire vacation period.
2. Trail Networks.
Kingdom Trails in the Burke Region has constructed and maintains an extensive
trail network for spring/summer/fall walking, bicycling, horseback riding, and
hiking, as well as for winter cross country skiing and snowshoe hiking. The
Catamount Trail runs through several Orleans County towns and is part
of a cross country ski trail running the length of Vermont and linking to several
ski touring centers. Newport and Derby have created a bicycle path on an old
railroad bed adjacent to Lake Memphremagog that links to 30 miles of bicycle
trails in Quebec. The Vermont Leadership Center maintains a trail network
for muscle-powered recreation in East Charleston. The Craftsbury Outdoor
Center maintains marked trails.
3. Snowmobiling.
The Vermont Association of Snow Travelers maintains extensive snow mobile
trails on private and public holdings.
4. Lakes and Water Recreation.
Developed beaches include Crystal Lake State Park in Barton, Lake
Willoughby in Westmore, Newport Municipal Beach on Lake Memphremagog,
the Hardwick Municipal Beach on Caspian Lake in Geensboro, West Danville
Beach on Joe's Pond, Brighton State Park, Maidstone Lake State
Park, Groton State Park, and the Municipal Beach on Shadow Lake
in Glover. UVM Extension operates a 4-H camp on Salem Lake in Derby,
next to the Derby Center Beach. Outdoor pools are available to the public in
St. Johnsbury and Lyndonville.
5. Cross Country Ski Touring.
Groomed and developed cross country ski touring can be found at the Craftsbury
Touring Center, Highland Lodge in Greensboro, Jay Peak, Burke
Mountain, Lyndon Outing Club, Kingdom Trails in Lyndon and
Burke, and the Vermont Leadership Center in East Charleston. There is
extensive back country skiing on private and public land.
6. Alpine Skiing.
Jay Peak and Burke Mountain are premier alpine ski mountains.
The Lyndon Outing Club also operates a modest alpine ski facility in
Lyndonville that is lighted for night skiing.
7. Hiking.
There are hiking trails on many Northeast Kingdom mountains, including Jay Peak;
Mt. Pisgah, Wheeler Mountain and Bald Mountain Westmore; Mt. Monadnock in Lemington;
and Owl's Head in Groton/Peacham. The Long Trail runs along the spine of the
Green Mountains on the western edge of the region.
8. Bicycling.
The Northeast Kingdom has miles of paved and unpaved scenic roads with low to
moderate amounts of car traffic that are ideal for bicycling.
9. Canoeing.
Navigable rivers for canoeing include the Connecticut, Clyde, Barton, Black
and Passumpsic Rivers. The Passumpsic Valley Riverway Project is a project
of the Passumpsic Valley Land Trust that has established a twenty mile water
trail from East Burke to Barnet. The Upper Valley Land Trust is expanding
plans for a water trail all along the Connecticut River in Essex County.
10. Outdoor Education.
Ropes courses have been set up at Lyndon State College, the Cheney
House in Westmore, 4-H Camp Coutts Moriarty in Derby, and the Vermont
Leadership Center in East Charleston. The Vermont Leadership Center is establishing
a Center for Ecosystem Management to demonstrate sound principals of
natural resource management. The Vermont Leadership Center also runs the Northeast
Kingdom Conservation Service Corps that provides employment on conservation
based projects.
11. Golf.
Public and Private golf courses are in Greensboro, Derby, Orleans and St. Johnsbury.
12. Indoor Recreation.
The Fenton W. Chester Arena in Lyndon Center maintains an ice rink in the winter
months. There are indoor swimming facilities at Lyndon State College and Saint
Johnsbury Academy. Most communities have basketball courts/ gyms at their local
schools. There are private fitness centers in Newport/Derby, St. Johnsbury and
Hardwick, and a racquet ball club in St. Johnsbury.
13. Hunting and Fishing.
Hunting and fishing are traditional activities throughout the region. Hundreds
of deer camps are located throughout the Northeast Kingdom. In winter, hundreds
of fishing shanties appear on area lakes.
14. Conservation Organizations.
Conservation organizations active in the Northeast Kingdom include the Vermont
Land Trust, the Nature Conservancy, Passumpsic Valley Land Trust,
and Peacham Land Trust. Trout Unlimited and Ducks Unlimited
are active in stream and wetlands protection. There are municipal conservation
commissions in eight Northeast Kingdom Communities. The Northern Forest
Alliance advocates for environmental protection in the region. The federal
Conte Wildlife Refuge is active in the Connecticut River Watershed.
All residents of the Northeast Kingdom, including children, have access to quality outdoor and indoor recreation opportunities. Recreational programs and opportunities remain an important part of the culture and community life of the Northeast Kingdom. Residents are able to utilize and conserve natural resources in a way that provides economic opportunity and promotes community well being.
1. Recreation Programs.
Local recreation programs are highly dependent on volunteers and operate on
very limited funding. Organized recreation was seen as a critical need by
79% of the low income population, with 89.5% seeing a specific need for youth
programs.
2. Indoor Recreation.
Recreation opportunities are limited by weather extremes. There are not enough
indoor recreation opportunities that are available regardless of weather conditions.
While only 36.9% of the low income population disagreed that there is adequate
access to outdoor recreation in their town, 62% disagreed that there is adequate
indoor recreation facilities in their town.
3. Accessability.
The many outdoor recreation options in the Northeast Kingdom are not accessible
to all families, especially low income families who cannot afford necessary
equipment and fees. A need for affordable and available recreation activities
for the general public was identified by 91% of the low income population surveyed.
4. Recreation Impacts.
Improper outdoor recreation use on private and public land can have detrimental
impacts on the land. Some recreational uses can also be incompatible with other
recreational uses and detract from the recreationists' experience. There is
intense recreational interest in a newly conserved 132,000 acre tract of forest
land in Essex County which has three different private and public land owners.
5. Planning and Coordination.
Expansion of outdoor recreation opportunities, including the integration of
trail networks, cannot happen without substantial planning and coordination
among private landowners and with public landowners. Unmanaged or unplanned
outdoor recreation on private and public land can have detrimental impacts on
the land, on the activities of the landowner, and on the experience of other
recreational users, especially when two recreational uses are not complimentary.
6. Water Quality.
Summer water quality in some areas is inadequate to support swimming and other
water-based recreation.
Recreation Programs and Accessability
Indoor Recreation
Recreation Impacts; Planning and Coordination
Water Quality