Vermont Public
An iconic and ancient granite dome in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom will now be conserved forever as public land.
Wheeler Mountain lies to the west of Mount Hor, Lake Willoughby and Mount Pisgah in the town of Sutton. The Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation announced this week it has purchased the land that encompasses the peak as part of a nearly 120-acre acquisition.
The area includes the cliffs, high ridgeline and summit of Wheeler Mountain, which is a popular hiking and historic rock climbing destination.
“In addition to those recreational features, the cliffs offer some unique natural habitats as well,” said Gannon Osborn, who manages the Land Conservation Program at the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. “They have served as nesting habitat for peregrine falcons in the past, and there’s kind of this high elevation forest community.”
Evidence of rock climbing on the peak’s granite slabs and cracks dates back to at least 1947. Read the full article here.
