Diario de trscavo

Hubert “Hub” Vogelmann (1928–2013), a professor of botany at the University of Vermont for 36 years, wrote two booklets entitled Natural areas in Vermont, published in 1964 and 1969. In these two booklets, he documents dozens of specific natural areas, some of them well known but many of them completely unknown (at least to me). Vogelmann's intention was to make them better known to a broad audience so that they might become protected areas for future generations to appreciate and enjoy.

His lists of natural areas are amazing! In the coming months, I hope to visit some of the places he writes about. I'll record my experiences here, in my iNaturalist journal. Stay tuned!

• Vogelmann, Hubert (1964). Natural areas in Vermont, Report No. 1. Vermont Resources Research Center, University of Vermont.
• Vogelmann, Hubert (1969). Natural areas in Vermont, Report No. 2. Central Planning Office and Interagency Committee on Natural Resources. Montpelier, Vermont.

As noted in the comments, these booklets are available for in-library use at the Billings Library on the University of Vermont campus. My online notes briefly list the natural areas, their approximate locations, and a few other details.

In Natural areas of Vermont (1964), Hub Vogelmann describes two areas, the "Sandbar Swamp White Oak-Silver Maple Forest" and the "Sandbar Marsh", both located in the state-owned Sandbar Waterfowl Area. Today the area is known as the Sandbar Wildlife Management Area.

I visited the Sandbar Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Milton on April 4, 2023. As you can see on the map linked above, most of the WMA is a wildlife refuge with no public access, and both of Vogelmann's natural areas are in the no-access zone. There's a fence around this area, with clearly written signage: "State Waterfowl Refuge: Hunting, Shooting, Fishing, Trapping, and Trespassing PROHIBITED."

I was disappointed, but hey, I get it. The best way to protect the wildlife is to keep people out. I did, however, visit the open portion of the WMA and made a few observations.

In Natural areas of Vermont (1964), Hub Vogelmann describes Cranberry Bog near the summit of Snake Mountain in Weybridge. Today Cranberry Bog is part of the Snake Mountain Wildlife Management Area (WMA). The brochure says the WMA is diverse, and that is very true. You never know what you'll find on Snake Mountain!

We hiked to Cranberry Bog on April 11, 2023. I made only a few observations on this day since we were pressed for time. We saw lots of deer sign on this hike. It appears that Snake Mountain is an important deer wintering area.

Water levels were down everywhere we went. The brook was running slower than usual. Vernal pools were low or completely dry. The beaver pond just west of the bog was at less than half capacity. Clearly Snake Mountain needs more rain to bring the water levels back to normal.

Shelburne Pond was described by Hub Vogelmann in part 2 of Natural areas of Vermont in 1969. Later accounts of Hub's life tell how he loved to go fishing there. One day he found an old dugout canoe floating on the pond. Using carbon-14 dating methods, the canoe was found to be over 700 years old.

There's an upland forest along the southwest shore of the pond. Older documents refer to this area as the Shelburne Pond Natural Area but the official name is the H. Laurence Achilles Natural Area at Shelburne Pond. Vogelmann was instrumental in the creation of this natural area. It is a rich hardwood forest with a diverse population of early spring wildflowers, one of the best such areas in Chittenden County. It is one of two natural areas in Vermont (the other being Shaw Mountain Natural Area) that support large numbers of white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum). Be sure to visit the natural area during the first week of May for a breathtaking display of trilliums!

I visited the H. Laurence Achilles Natural Area at Shelburne Pond on April 15,2023, observing about 30 taxa of plants, most of them budding or flowering.

RESOURCES

• Shelburne Pond, the H. Laurence Achilles Natural Area, The University of Vermont
• H. Laurence Achilles Natural Area at Shelburne Pond, The Nature Conservancy
• Shelburne Pond, Trail Finder

Colchester Bog was described by Hub Vogelmann in part 1 of Natural areas of Vermont in 1964. At the time, the area was privately owned. Today, the Colchester Bog Natural Area is owned by the University of Vermont. A floating boardwalk extends into the bog in the southeast corner of the natural area.

I visited the Colchester Bog Natural Area on April 20, 2023. Much of the area is impenetrable this time of the year (due to high water) but the day's observations included numerous species from the heath family (Rhododendron, Kalmia, trailing arbutus, leatherleaf, wild rosemary), purple pitcher plant, and various emerging ferns.