Hardwick, Vermont

Town Forest Stewardship Committee (book name; no body by this name found)

Problem

Public assets—parks, greens, waterways, buildings—slip into neglect, privatization, or misuse when no one clearly owns their care.

Solution

Hardwick has two town forests: the Hardwick Trails forest block behind Hazen Union School (school district, town and partner land; about 10 miles of trail) and a 70-acre municipal parcel on Buffalo Mountain, with a 329-acre Buffalo Mountain expansion funded in 2026. The Hardwick Trails Committee, an all-volunteer sub-committee of the town Recreation Department since 2003, maintains and grooms the trails, meets monthly and posts its minutes online; a 2018 state-assisted Town Forest Recreation Plan recommended an overarching Town Forest Committee, and in June 2026 a resident Buffalo Mountain Town Forest Steering Committee began drafting a management plan for the Selectboard. No body called the Town Forest Stewardship Committee, and no shared maintenance log, was found.

Patterns used: Commons Stewardship

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