The Wildlife of New England: A Viewer's Guide

Vermont

� new hampshire ������� 7 7 4 4 9 22A 7 7 11 5 10 8 3 12 2 9 4 91 91 89 93 1 6 7 1 �. Bill Sladyk Wildlife Management Area �. Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area �. The Great Cliff of Mount Horrid �. Green Mountain National Forest: Stratton Mountain Area �. Groton State Forest �. Missiquoi National Wildlife Refuge �. Mount Mansfield and Smugglers’ Notch State Park �. Mount Philo State Park �. Springweather Nature Area and North Springfield Lake ��. Union Village Dam ��. Victory Basin Wildlife Management Area ��. White River National Fish Hatchery ������� vermont 185 Bill Sladyk Wildlife Management Area Vermont Fish and Wildlife, 802-748-8787, www.vtfishandwildlife.com/wma_maps.cfm closest towns: Island Pond, Newport directions: For the Holland Pond entrance, from vt 111 at the Seymour Lake Lodge in Morgan turn north on Valley Road and continue toward Holland village. After 4.7 miles, at a junction where the main road curves left, bear right (straight) on the gravel road and continue for 2.9 miles to a T intersection. Turn right here on Holland Pond Road and continue for 2.3 miles to the road’s end at the boat ramp. For the Hurricane Brook area, from the junction of vt 114 and vt 111 north of Island Pond follow vt 114 north for 3.1 miles and turn left on Hurricane Brook Road (unmarked as of this writing). Follow Hurricane Brook Road along the edge of Norton Pond and past residences for 2 miles to the entrance sign. Those visiting or staying in the nearby Newport area should stop at the boat launch at the South Bay Wildlife Management Area, which is located on Coventry Street half a mile from the downtown traffic light. Bald eagles, osprey, wading birds, kingfishers, and large flocks of migrating waterfowl are all seen here, as are black terns, which in New England outside of Maine nest only in far northwest and northeast Vermont. The waterfront of nearby Lake Memphremagog offers more wildlife and scenic viewing opportunities. For a remote, wild north woods experience, the Bill Sladyk Wildlife Management Area, named in memory of a former state wildlife forester, protects more than 10,000 acres of forest and wetland habitats at the tip of the Northeast Kingdom. The preserve stretches from the northern tip of Norton Pond to the Canadian border, which it abuts for two miles. A classic northern forest of hardwood birches, beeches, and maples and softwood spruce, fir, and cedar is the predominant habitat here. Within these expansive woods the state Fish and Wildlife Department has implemented a variety of management practices for wildlife, including a patchwork of small clear-cuts north of the Hurricane Brook entrance for ruffed grouse and clearings with wildflowers such as black-eyed Susan, crown vetch, goldenrod, and daisies. Interspersed among the forests is a diverse group of wetlands, including seven natural ponds, beaver wetlands, swamps, brooks and streams, and peat bogs. The largest and most accessible of these is 335-acre ­ Holland 186 the wildlife of new england Pond on the preserve’s northwest boundary. To its north and east just south of the international border are the smaller Beaver, Round, Turtle, and Duck ponds. viewing The regenerating forest groves offer food and cover for snowshoe hares, which in turn sustain predators such as eastern coyotes, red and gray foxes, fishers, and bobcats. Forest management also benefits white-tailed deer, which are more dependent on disturbances and openings in the deep north woods than in other regions of New England. Moose, of course, thrive in this ideal combination of their favored forest and wetland habitats and unbroken travel corridors. Black bears enjoy abundant beechnuts and wetland vegetation, and plenty of remote denning sites. Lodges, dams, cut trees, wetlands, and regenerating meadows mark the handiwork of beavers, which are common in the ponds and streams. Also benefiting from these wetlands are river otters, muskrats, mink, raccoons, and amphibians such as spring peepers and leopard, wood, green, and mink frogs. The latter is unique among New England’s frogs and toads in that it is found exclusively in the northernmost regions of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Hidden beneath the numerous rocks and downed trees are dusky, blue-spotted, and red-backed salamanders. Reptiles include painted, snapping, and wood turtles. In spite of their remoteness, these ponds have been stocked with trout. Common loons are present at Holland Pond during the warm months; boaters...