Buck's Ledge Community Forest
Description
The 701-acre Buck's Ledge Community Forest has three trails : Lapham Ledge, Buck's Ledge, and JnJ Backcountry Trail to Moody Mountain. All three trails total six miles and are accessed via a gravel logging road that also serves as a snowmobile trail The trails offer rewarding views of the Mahoosuc Range, White Mountains, and near by ponds and lakes.
Through the Access for All initiative an accessible trail was built to ensure that this “Forever Forest for All” remains open and welcoming to everyone.
Special Features
Twelve different natural communities as identified by the Maine Natural Areas Program are on the property including a 3.2 Acre Black Ash Swamp. Additionally, two rare plants are found on the property: Carex sparganoides (Bur-reed Sedge), found only on this site in Maine, and Panax quinquefolius (American ginseng).
The ledges provide nesting habitat for peregrine falcons. Nearby, nesting eagles and loons are also often seen and heard as well.
How This Place Became Open To the Public
The Buck's Ledge Community Forest was created in 2022 through a collaborative effort by The Woodstock Conservation Commission, Mahoosuc Land Trust, the Forest Society of Maine, the Northern Forest Center, and many individual donors. The property is managed by the Woodstock Conservation Commission.
