The Center for Woodlands Education has received its first-ever gift of land. In August, the family of Edward and Lilian Oresky donated to the Center a 103-acre woodland in East Burke, Vermont.
The Oreskys, originally from New York, bought the land in 1964. Edward was an airline pilot, and Lilian was a businesswoman. According to their daughter Virginia, neither of them was particularly “outdoorsy,” but “they loved nature and took comfort in knowing that a piece of the world would be there as a wildlife refuge, untouched and left for posterity.”
Lilian Oresky passed away in 2003, and Edward died in August 2004, on the day the property was transferred to the Center. As Virginia noted, “Although the transaction took place on the last day of his life, I’m certain he’d be happy that the land will continue to serve its original purpose.”
According to Virginia, Dave Clements of Allard Lumber in Brattleboro, Vermont, contacted her two years ago about doing a salvage operation on the property to remove marketable timber blown down by a windstorm. In the course of negotiations, Virginia mentioned that her father wanted to donate the land to an educational organization that would protect the land from development. Clements suggested the Center as an appropriate choice.
Oresky then contacted Steve Long, Northern Woodlands editor and, at the time, the Center’s director. When the Oresky family felt confident that the spirit of her family’s ownership would be in good hands with the Center, the transaction became a reality.
The land is typical of the Northern Forest. Hardwood, softwood, and mixed stands blend in a range of elevations, and the property contains a large wetland. The Portland Pipeline crosses the land, and maintenance of that right-of-way assures that the area will continue to feature significant early successional habitat. A Kingdom Trails bicycle trail runs along the property’s boundary, and a snowmobile trail follows the pipeline right-of-way. Flower Brook, a tributary of the Passumpsic River, flows through the site as well.
The Center’s plans for the property are not yet certain, though our intent is that it be conserved as a working forest, whether or not the Center keeps ownership. This was the Oresky family’s vision of the land – an ideal match with the vision that infuses the pages of Northern Woodlands.
Everyone at the Center is deeply grateful to the Oresky family and to Dave Clements and Mark Rivers at Allard Lumber, who made this legacy gift possible.
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