Location: Canaan, Vermont
Acres:  424 for community benefit

For generations, residents of Canaan, Vermont, had used several hundred acres of forestland owned by Neil and Louise Tillotson — owners of the Tillotson Corporation and the Balsams Grand Resort in New Hampshire — for a variety of traditional uses. When the Neil Tillotson Trust offered the land to the town, people were excited by the opportunity to own the land and the responsibility of stewarding it.

Residents recognized the strong cultural ties to forestland in general and the historical recreational uses of the Tillotson property. The town formed a Community Forest committee to plan for ownership and management of the forestland to generate a variety of community benefits.

Today, the town of Canaan owns a 424-acre Community Forest with a conservation easement on 368 acres to ensure that the majority of the property will be kept undeveloped for all time. The working forest is generating income through sustainable timber harvests, providing recreational opportunities, protecting the local water supply and providing an outdoor classroom for a range of classes including earth science and training related to forest-based businesses.

The remaining 56 acres of the property has no easement and is available for the town to use for economic development.