Residents of the eastern Vermont town of West Windsor are looking to bring back the former Ascutney Mountain Resort. The ski area went bankrupt and shuttered in the summer of 2010, but it could be turned into a community recreation area if the town can raise the $900,000 necessary to buy the property from its current owner, MFW Associates, .
The West Windsor community voted to set aside $100,000 to buy 469 acres of the property, and the 聽has agreed to chip in $300,000. The 聽(TPL) is working on raising the remaining funds, partially through a .
TPL is getting involved because of the area鈥檚 biodiversity. 鈥淸It鈥檚 at] the northern edge of some southern forest species and the southern edge of the northern hardwood species, so you鈥檝e got a combination of red pine and oak with spruce and fir, all on acidic soils in a high-elevation diversity,鈥� Kate Wanner, TLP鈥檚 project manager for Ascutney, told Vermont Public Radio. 鈥淪o there鈥檚 a lot of stuff going on on that mountain and a lot more to protect besides recreation.鈥�
If the money is raised, West Windsor would take the former ski resort and incorporate it into the West Windsor Town Forest. The goal from there would be to open the property to backcountry skiing, mountain biking, horseback riding, and hiking.
At the town meeting in October, when the purchase was approved, resident Steve Bodley said he thinks buying the property would help the town. 鈥淟osing the ski area has been a really hard hurdle to try to get over,鈥� he . 鈥淭hat was the backbone of this town for a long time. Without it, we really don鈥檛 have much left.鈥�