Local makes history with incredible 135-acre donation: 'It's something I have to do in my life'

One Vermont woman recently made good on a plan to donate a 135-acre parcel of land to a local trust, preserving it as a refuge for wildlife. 

The Rutland Herald reported in mid-March that Pat Stevenson bought the land in Orwell, knowing she would eventually donate it. 

"I've only owned it for six years," she said, "so I bought it with the intention of donating it, but not at the time I bought it." 

Around the same time she purchased the land, she met John Leibowitz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Northeast Wilderness Trust. 

"We got together — we walked the pond on the property and visited these beautiful old trees, which are kind of the namesake," he told the Herald. 

The trees referenced were once called "wolf trees" for their supposed negative impact on nearby saplings, a belief later proved untrue. They are now known to be among the most positive features of what is set to become the Wolf Tree Wilderness Sanctuary. 

After Stevenson's business partner passed away, she decided she was ready to put the land in the trust's hands. 

"And so, six years later, she let us know that she was ready to conserve the property and ensure that its future was forever wild," Leibowitz said. 

He explained that the trust needs both managed forests and wildlands, but it has been short on wildlands. This makes Stevenson's donation especially important. Colby Galliher, a communications expert for the trust, said the land is crucial to protecting essential ecosystems. 

Species survival relies on protected habitats, while habitat loss is one of the top threats to much of the world's flora and fauna. 

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Private donors like Stevenson are a driving force behind critical land preservation worldwide, including in places like New York, the Scottish Highlands, and Florida. 

For Stevenson, it was something she felt compelled to do. 

"It's something I have to do in my life," she told the Herald. "To just give the land a chance."

While you may not be able to buy and preserve huge swaths of land, you can be a good steward and help give it a chance by other means. Leaving no trace when exploring wild places, taking local action in smaller ways, and voting for pro-environment candidates are all steps you can take to help protect the planet and its inhabitants.

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