A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE WINDMILL HILL PINNACLE ASSOCIATION

The as yet largely unspoiled 25,800-acre Windmill Ridge is a prominent feature of the landscape in the southeastern corner of Vermont just west of the Connecticut River valley.
This ridge stretches out over 16 miles from the Towns of Rockingham and Athens in the north, down through Westminster, Brookline, and Putney, and on into Dummerston to the south. The Pinnacle in Westminster — at 1,683 feet its highest peak and a favorite destination for local family picnics and group outings — was in 1987 purchased and closed to the public by an absentee out-of town couple unfamiliar with local traditions. This closure led to a certain amount of local animosity as reflected in letters to the editor and otherwise, although not to any remedy.

A tragic death in 1991 by a local young man who had demonstrated a love of the outdoors in general, and of the Pinnacle lands in particular, became the turning point in the whole matter, galvanizing a small group of concerned local citizens in an attempt to honor that person's memory by restoring the traditional public access to the Pinnacle. Indeed, in time the new owners responded most graciously by offering to actually donate the Pinnacle and surrounding 47 acres to that group so long as public access to it would not run through the remainder of their property.

The group, now calling itself the Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association, then began its quest by working informally to meet that challenge of finding an acceptable right-of-way to the Pinnacle, but without any tangible success over the ensuing several years. With the eventual realization that suitable land had to be purchased in order to succeed, six of the initial group in 1993 formally registered WHPA as a Vermont non-profit corporation, with the Association soon thereafter attaining both federal and state tax-exempt status (for a list of Trustees, past and present, see Appendix 1).

During this time, WHPA expanded beyond its original narrow concern over continued access to outdoor recreation to additionally embrace a far more sweeping concern for environmental conservation for both the Pinnacle and the Windmill Ridge of which it was a part. This expanded mission was motivated by a number of concerns, especially the growing development pressures in southeastern Vermont, the overall inadequacy of protected lands in this region of the state, the emerging need for protected north-south corridors to facilitate plant and animal range adjustments necessitated by global warming, and the felt need to instill or reinforce a conservation ethic in the general public in this time of ever more serious debilitation of the global biosphere. Thus, in 1994 — and adhered to with care ever since — WHPA adopted as its primary mission: "to acquire, protect, and make accessible a portion of the scenic rural lands of the Town of Westminster, Vermont, and nearby areas. The natural character of these lands, the wild plants and animals they support, and their aesthetic and inspirational values shall be protected for present and future generations".

With its enhanced mission, WHPA was during 1996 and 1997 able to raise sufficient funds to purchase its first four parcels, amounting to 362 acres, which not only provided the needed access to the Pinnacle — and with that achievement the promised donation of the 47 acres — but at the same time formed the nucleus of the WHPA Nature Reserve and Trail system. Subsequent private, state, and foundation support grew by leaps and bounds. Individuals ascribing to the Association's goals joined in ever increasing numbers, growing from the initial handful in 1993 to some 1,500 lifetime members over the next decade or so. Similarly, the size of the WHPA Nature Reserve began to grow from the 409 acres that by the end of 1997 had formed its nucleus to the 23 parcels in early 2008 that totaled 1,562 acres, and supporting a trail system grown to 14 miles that WHPA had opened to the public right from the start for non-motorized low-impact uses. A derelict cabin on the Pinnacle was in 1999 converted to a lean-to by a group of volunteer WHPA members and is much used by school groups and others for overnight stays (two further structures on other parcels were removed, one in 1996 and the other in 2004). Starting in 1996, perpetual conservation easements on the WHPA Reserve lands have been donated jointly to the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board and Vermont Land Trust. With the exception of a 113-acre memorial wildlife sanctuary established in 2003 for a local Marine killed in action during World War II (and for which the conservation easement is held only by the Vermont Land Trust), the entire WHPA Reserve is open to hunting, especially important both in reducing deer pressures on regenerating tree seedlings and in fostering good local community relations.

The incredible expansion in size of the WHPA Reserve during the 12 years between 1996 and 2008 could not have occurred without untold hours of volunteer maintenance activities by numerous Association members, and without the incredibly generous financial support from numerous dedicated Association members, about a dozen local businesses, and some half dozen foundations — but especially from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, which over those 12 years awarded WHPA as many as nine grants, amounting to a total of $788 thousand.

Not all grants and donations received over the years went to land acquisition. Some provided for a professional biodiversity survey of the Reserve, carried out in 1999, which laid the groundwork for subsequent wildlife monitoring of vernal-pool salamanders, ground-nesting birds, and mammals (via tracks and scat). Some of those moneys also made possible the hiring of an outdoor environmental educator during 2000–2002 to work with local elementary school classes. They additionally made it possible to establish and maintain two self-guided nature trails, one in 2004 and the other in 2006. The Association is most pleased that area educational institutions from elementary to graduate have used the Reserve and its resources over the years, including the field work for at least two master's and one doctoral degree.

Of those 23 parcels making up the 1,562 acres of WHPA Reserve in 2008, four (amounting to 185 acres) were outright gifts, but the remaining 19 all had to be purchased at their duly appraised development value. Those 1,562 acres are spread out over four towns: Athens (382 acres); Brookline (28 acres); Rockingham (44 acres); and Westminster (1,109 acres) (for a list of all land holdings, see Appendix 2). A Stewardship Endowment Fund was activated by WHPA in 1996, the income from which is committed to paying the town property taxes and for liability insurance. The WHPA property-tax burden has been alleviated since 2000 when the Reserve lands were enrolled in the state's Use Value Appraisal (Current Use) Program, being the first in the state to take advantage of this opportunity for conservation land.

Finally, it is important to note that the WHPA vision has all long been reinforced through active cooperation with several organizations that share the goal of conserving portions of the Windmill Ridge in the Towns of Brookline, Dummerston, and Putney to the south of the WHPA Reserve — especially so with the Putney Mountain Association since 1999, and additionally with the Town of Putney, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Conte Refuge, the Vermont chapter of the Nature Conservancy, and, more recently, with the Town of Dummerston.

Appendix 1: WHPA Trustees through July 2008
1. Robert J. Haas, of Westminster (1992-2000)
2. Alison M. Latham, of Westminster (1992–95, 1997–), Secretary 92-95; Treasurer 1998–; Registered Agent 1992–
3. Sean T. Long, of Westminster (1992-2003)
4. Beverly Bruhn Major, of Westminster (1992–), Chairperson 1992-2005; Secretary 2006–
5. Jon Taylor, of Westminster (1992)
6. Ellen A. Zimmerman, of Westminster (1992–), Treasurer 1992-1997
7. Carol E. Westing, of Putney (1995–), Secretary 1995-1999
8. Judith A. Anderson, of Kinderhook, NY (1996-2006)
9. C. Doris Fredericks, of Putney (1996-2001), Treasurer 1997-1998
10. Michael McKernan, then of Westminster (1996-1997)
11. Elizabeth S. Mills, of Westminster (1996–)
12. Arthur H. Westing, of Putney (1996-2003)
13. Marie L. Wright, of Westminster (1996-2002)
14. Angelka Dodd, of Westminster (1997-2002), Secretary 1999-2003
15. Roger Haydock, of Dummerston (1997– 2008)
16. Frances G. Knibb, of Putney (1997-2000)
17. Lisa J. Merton, of Marlboro (1997-2002)
18. Judy Zemel, then of Westminster (1997-2002)
19. Richard E. Brown, of Rockingham (1998-2001)
20. Sarah M. Cooper-Ellis, of Brattleboro (1998-2001)
21. Edward H. Dodd, III, then of Westminster (1999-2002)
22. James Gould, of Westminster (1999-2002)
23. Martha Mitchell, of Westminster (1999-2000)
24. Juliet E. Crowley, of Westminster (2000-2002)
25. Randolph T. Major, of Westminster (2000–)
26. Margaret E. Atkinson, of Brattleboro (2001-2004), Secretary 2003-2004
27. Margo Tucker Ghia, of Rockingham (2001-2004)
28. James W. Jordan, of Westminster (2001-2003)
29. Claire LeMessurier, of Westminster (2001-2005)
30. Lynn M. Morgan, of Athens (2001-2002)
31. Robert Bursky, of Walpole, NH (2002-2003)
32. Rebecca Nixon, of Westminster (2002–)
33. Daron Tansley, of Westminster (2002-2004)
34. Howard Weiss-Tisman, of Westminster (2002-2003)
35. Philip Odegard, of Westminster (2003-2005)
36. Paul Sternfels, of Westminster (2003-2005) [Deceased 2005]
37. Andrew L. Toepfer, of Athens (2003–)
38. Deborah D. Bump, of Rockingham (2004-2006)
39. Carroll A. Metrick, of Westminster (2004–), Secretary 2004-2006
40. Carol A. Ortlip, of Westminster (2004-2007)
41. Camilla Roberts, of Rockingham (2004–), Chairperson 2005–
42. George P. Terwilliger, of Putney (2004–)
43. Richard H. Cowan, of Westminster (2005-2006)
44. Evan Griffith, of Westminster (2005-2006)
45. Elizabeth M. Harlow, of Westminster (2005-2007)
46. Abigail P. Littlefield, of Westminster (2005–)
47. James (Silos) Roberts, of Rockingham (2005–)
48. Maria Basescu, of Westminster (2006–)
49. Faith Terwilliger, of Putney (2006-2007)
50. Thomas Brennan, of Rockingham (2007– 2008)
51. Curtis (Tony) Coven, of Westminster (2007–)
52. Seward J. (Ward) Ogden, III, of Putney (2007–)
53. Bryant R. Kuhn (2008--)
54. Kathleen A. Martin (2008--)

Appendix 2: WHPA land holdings as of April 2008

No.	Parcel	Town No.	Acres	Acquired
1	Bissell (Westminster)	9-010	47.60	18 Jan 96
2	Latham/Athens	5-090	90.52	26 Aug 97
3	Latham/Westminster	9-001	84.00	26 Aug 97
4	Farnsworth (Westminster)	9-011	46.60	28 Aug 97
5	Littman (Westminster)	9-003.2	140.10	28 Aug 97
6	Peavey (Athens)	5-077	25.63	12 Dec 98
7	Holden/North/Brookline	2-024	20.00	9 Apr 99
8	Holden/North/Westminster	13-001.1	287.10	9 Apr 99
9	Mills (Westminster)	9-023	23.40	9 Apr 99
10	Ryan (Athens)	5-073	174.00	15 Aug 00
11	Holden/South/1 (Westminster)	13-001.2	9.50	20 Apr 01
12	Holden/South/2 (Westminster)	13-001.3	140.50	20 Apr 01
13	Hescock/Westminster	5-009	37.00	28 Aug 01
14	Martin/Rockingham	14-062-0099	43.60	12 Aug 03
15	Martin/Westminster	2-003	69.10	12 Aug 03
16	Jewett/Athens	5-013	29.30	31 Aug 03
17	Jewett/Westminster	5-001	102.20	31 Aug 03
18	Hescock/Athens	5-075	35.10	2 Dec 03
19	Latham-Mills (Athens)	5-074.1	1.00	28 Feb 05
20	Cowan/Brookline	2-011-07	8.30	1 Oct 07
21	Cowan/Westminster	9-012	102.70	1 Oct 07
22	Avery/Athens	5-076.1	26.50	14 Mar 08
23	Avery/Westminster	5-006	19.50	14 Mar 08
			Total	1,563.25

Note 1: Contiguous parcels in two abutting Towns: 2/3, 7/8, 13/18, 14/15, 16/17, 20/21, and 22/23.

Note 2: The four donated parcels: Farnsworth, Martin/Rockingham, Martin/Westminster, and Peavey.

Note 3: WHPA Rights-of-Way: (a) From the Cowan/Brookline parcel to Grassy Brook Rd, acquired1 Oct 07; (b) From the Jewett/Westminster parcel to Bemis Hill Rd, acquired 31 Aug 03; and (c) From the Martin/Rockingham parcel to Sleepy Valley Rd acquired informally on 3 Feb 04. (The R/W from the Hescock/Westminster parcel to Old Athens Rd, acquired 28 Aug 01, becomes the property of WHPA as part of the acquisition of the Avery/Westminster parcel.)

Note 4: Structures: There is a lean-to plus an outhouse on the Farnsworth parcel.

Thank you to Arthur Westing for writing this history.