You Helped Us Help Preservation Trust of Vermont Conserve 22.5 Acres

BREAKING NEWS: The $1,000,000 goal has been REACHED! And then some…

You did it! We did it! Amazing and Spectacular: the donors, the support, and what it was all for, the beautiful Exit 4.

Read Preservation Trust’s announcement.


Good music, fun times, and further steps that reached our goal! A big thank you to everyone that attended, the wonderful local musicians, the local artists and businesses that donated items for the silent auction/raffle.

E4OS Concert Good Folk! June 3rd E4OS Concert Rock It! June 10th
The ribbon has been broken as the finish line crossed! We are and will always be so appreciative of the awesome support.
DonationTracking
Thanks to the generosity of over 476 individual and corporate contributors, we REACHED our goal!

donate

Question? Find an answer.

Sharon Wight of Lebanon, NH, stating her perspective on donating: “I have always loved the view at Exit 4, even though I do not go through there much.  It makes me angry to see people just thinking about the commercial aspect of things rather than quality of life.”

Howard Dean, Governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003, with a resounding ‘YES!!!!’, has endorsed our cause with his own donation.

Paul MacAdams, who once farmed the land in the 1960’s and 70’s, is happy it’s being conserved. “Perfect!” said McAdams. “It’s gonna be fields, dammit! Let it stay that way. Too much of Vermont is getting chewed up.”

— credit Steve Zind/VPR

EXIT 4 FARMLAND TO BE PURCHASED FOR CONSERVATION
CASTANEA FOUNDATION
Castanea Foundation will purchase 149 acres of land around Exit 4. Preservation Trust has an option to purchase a 22 acres parcel (yellow highlighted section).

You did it!  We did it!  We have raised $1 million and Exit 4 will be saved!
“Thanks to a great many, we have reached the $1 million goal to purchase 22 acres at Exit 4 in Randolph!  So when this parcel is added to the 150 acres that the Castanea Foundation has purchased, a total or 172 acres of land will be protected from development and put into agricultural use.  What a miraculous effort!
What a remarkable turnaround!  It was not long ago when the developer and owner of the property was proposing to building 1,200,000 square feet of mixed use development. Now the property will be protected forever!  The outstanding scenic views will be protected, prime agricultural soils will be used for agricultural purposes, and this key step will help build a stronger downtown Randolph.
This didn’t happen by accident.  From the beginning it has been a team effort!   When the application for the massive development was submitted, the Conservation Law Foundation and the Vermont Natural Resources Council led the opposition in the permitting process. Exit 4 Open Space rallied local support and was a strong voice at the hearings.  We, at the Preservation Trust, provided financial support for the expert witnesses.
Then there were several months when CLF, VNRC, and the Preservation Trust participated in a mediation process with the developer.  And then more negotiations.
A major breakthrough happened when the Castanea Foundation reached a deal to buy 150 of the 172 acres along Route 66 in Randolph.
And then after more negotiating, the owner Sam Sammis agreed to give the Preservation Trust, CLF, and VNRC two months to purchase the remaining 22 acres.
The Open Space citizens group did the grassroots fundraising, and we then looked for major gifts to reach the $1 million goal.
It was a daunting task.  But you did it!  We did it!  We have Saved Exit 4!  We are so grateful to our grassroots contributors and our major donors!  Each of the 476 donations was important and critical to our success!  Thank you all!”
— Paul Bruhn, Executive Director, Preservation Trust of Vermont

View the media coverage of this precedent in Vermont conservation in Press.

Review how far we have come in our quest to conserve our farmland, scenic views, and downtown, click here.

Exit 4 Open Space is a group of Randolph area residents who believe that the proposed development of the “Green Mountain Center” at Exit 4 will permanently damage the working landscape of this region, the viability of our unique downtown, and local tourism. This mixed use project, totaling 1,150,000 square feet located on 172 acres, will replace an iconic view shed and prime agricultural land with large-scale development designed to profit non-local entities, which will adversely impact our local economy.  The promise of good jobs for local people has been elusive at other, similar, interstate development projects. The community we cherish will never recover if the proposed development proceeds.  Also, large-scale development at Exit 4 would damage this valuable resource appreciated by travelers through central Vermont.

Therefore, we have come together as Exit 4 Open Space to alert the citizens of the region as to the consequences of this development proposal.   We will perform research, attend hearings, provide testimony, distribute information and spare no effort to protect our way of life based in a working landscape, not urban sprawl.  Please join us in efforts to conserve this irreplaceable local resource.

Willie Nelson singing old standard about the Green Mountain State, Moonlight in Vermont. Take a listen…no mention of concrete, steel, or asphalt

Nothing Found

It seems we can’t find what you’re looking for. Perhaps searching can help.