Wiessner Woods is a special place for Stowe Land Trust and the community. It was donated to SLT by the Wiessner family in 1992 and has been a well-loved walk in the woods ever since. As a celebration of Wiessner Woods 20th anniversary we have some exciting projects taking place at the property this summer.
SLT partnered with the VT Youth Conservation Corps (VYCC) and the Catamount Trail Association to complete significant trail improvements including a bridge replacement on the Hardwood Ridge Trail (also the route of the Catamount Trail), new puncheon bridges, and a trail re-route on the Sugar House Loop.
A volunteer work day wrapped up VYCC’s week of trail work at Wiessner Woods. Volunteers put up new trail markers, spread trail surfacing, raked bridges, replaced bridge decking, and pruned branches along the trail edges. Thanks to all of our friends that came out under threatening skies to spruce up the trails we all love and to Edelweiss for donating our well-deserved lunch!
More than twenty years ago, Muriel Wiessner (known fondly as Moo Moo) deeded the 80 acre forest to Stowe Land Trust. For Moo Moo the signing of the deed was the culmination of a dream shared with her husband Fritz, the renowned alpinist and ardent conservationist who passed away a few years before she donated Wiessner Woods in his memory.
She made the donation to Stowe Land Trust because “it was local” and she “wanted someone who would care for the land they loved”. Wiessner Woods was Stowe Land Trust’s second conservation project following the facilitation of the acquisition of Mayo Farm by the Town of Stowe. SLT’s Board of Directors approached their newly conserved land with thoroughness and care and it has grown to be one of Stowe’s most popular conservation areas.
Moo Moo’s sentiments about SLT still resonate as we near a quarter century of owning Wiessner Woods. We’re still your local land trust and are as committed as ever to caring for the land she and Fritz loved.
In addition to trail improvements this summer, visitors to the property will soon see an updated trail map and new trail signs with the iconic owl that has stood watch over these woods for so long.