March 19, 2026
Present: Paul Council; Libby Case; Chad Wohler s; Jack Travelstead; Kiley Briggs; Sara Hedrick; Michael Gray
Agenda Items – Approval of 02.15.2026 mee�ngs minutes;
Woodbury Town Forest – with Emily Sayers, Lamoille County area Forester
Cranberry Meadow Wetland Sign;
Nichols Ledge /Peregrines
Woodbury Town Forest – Forestry Plan: Emily Sayers, Lamoille County area forester with the Dept. of Forest, Parks and Recrea�on, presented a dra� plan for Woodbury’s Town Forest. Emily expressed concern that the
town forest’s boundary lines may not be correct. Sara offered to help with a new survey using her GIS analyst
work experience. Emily shared that the town forest was of “mixed wood” and overstocked (too many trees)
from a �mber management perspec�ve. The WCC shares that harvestable �mber is not the management
focus of the forest but instead a recrea�onal/educa�onal focus has long been advocated by the WCC. Emily
also shared she found no invasive plants in the forest itself but men�oned wild chervil does exist along Town
Farm Road. She did find an invasive fungus among the beeches – called beech leave disease – that is now killing
the beech trees.
Within her dra� plan, Emily has organized the forest into two stands; both stands have fairly good soils. Stand
2 is primarily made up of sugar maples; she suggests this stand be managed as old growth. Stand 1 is in need
of help. Emily suggests Stand 1 would benefit from patch cuts and the replan�ng of trees of various types.
Emily is willing to help plan for this project. She also shares a number of ar�cles for reference with the WCC’s
plans for management and will provide the links to those texts for the WCC.
Next steps for the WCC regarding the town forest are the property line of the forest; following up with Emily
concerning the patch cuts for Stand 1 and con�nuing to work on the town forest management plan.
Cranberry Meadow Wetland Sign: Kiley shares a larger dra� print of the sign. The WCC reviews and discusses
the sign. Sara suggests several visual changes. Kiley will rework and present a new dra� at the next mee�ng.
Nichols Ledge: The increased human traffic to Nichols Ledge over the last few years, fueled by pos�ngs on
social media sites, has been a concern of the WCC, especially regarding the nes�ng peregrines. Recently
ownership of the ledge, as recorded in the town records, has changed hands though s�ll remaining in the same
family. Michael spoke with the listed owner about the increased human traffic at the ledge and the concern for
the peregrines that nest each year on the ledge. The owner stated the family ha s long supported the ledge trail
closures during peregrine nes�ng and is aware of the increased traffic to the ledge. He stated that his family
has long held a “don’t allow, don’t disallow” approach to visitors being on the property. He stated that the
ledge property has been owned by his family for over a 100 years and with a younger genera�on interested in
the ledge there are no plans to sell the property.
Peregrine Update: Michael reports the peregrines may not be nes�ng on Nichols Ledge this year but appear to
have chosen another loca�on in Woodbury. Michael will be visi�ng this new site to confirm that the peregrines
will be nes�ng there. He has informed the property owners of the new site and has permission to be on their
property for monitoring. Though shared with the WCC , Michael is reluctant to reveal the site to the public at
this point.