As adopted by the Krusch Preserve Steering Committee 4/16/2021- to be recommended with the Long Range Plan.
The Peter A Krusch Nature Preserve is established as a nature preserve to provide:
- Outdoor education and recreation opportunities for people of all ages
- Varied, rich habitat for plants and wildlife to thrive
- Improved access to the Cambridge Pines State Forest with its ancient trees
The Peter A. Krusch Nature Preserve is envisioned primarily, as its name indicates, as a publicly accessible
nature preserve where people of all ages can explore the natural world. The Preserve’s diverse habitat provides space for forest and wildlife and opportunities for people to enjoy peaceful recreation and contemplation; it is open to the public for people of all ages to enjoy a quiet place to explore the natural world.
Outdoor recreation can be enjoyed on foot at all seasons – walking, hiking, running, nature observation, nature photography, birdwatching, snowshoeing, cross country skiing. The Town of Cambridge accepted ownership of the Preserve in 2020, seeing it as a recreational resource for community members and visitors and as a connection to the Cambridge Pines State Forest, with its ancient pines and hemlocks. This was the vision of Peter Krusch, who owned and stewarded this land for 60 years.
The Preserve is being established in Covid-19 times – times which have seen greatly increased the use of natural areas and parks statewide, as people seek both outdoor recreation and solace. Providing all area residents with this opportunity, we envision that the use of the Preserve will only grow, as residents of Cambridge and visitors to our town to seek places for walking, outdoor recreation, and nature study.
The Management Plan is designed to provide:
- A natural, peaceful and quiet area offering solitude, rest, and rejuvenation
- A place for children and adults to be outside and experience nature
- Protection of wildlife habitat
- Protection of the diversity of the natural communities, wetlands, and streams
- Sustainable and well-maintained trails
- Access to Cambridge Pines State Forest and its ancient trees
- Interpretation of natural features and of the land, which was once a historic Vermont hill farm
- Preservation as a piece of a larger connected forest block
- Low key and low intensity use offering many non-motorized recreational opportunities
- Opportunities for learning about stewardship, history, and the forest
- A place to appreciate the natural world
- Trails with easy-to-follow maps and trail signage
- Generation of economic activity in the town by encouraging visitors
The Peter A. Krusch Nature Preserve - 316 North Cambridge Road, Cambridge, VT 05444 