Deer Run Nature Preserve

The 913-acre Deer Run Nature Preserve spans the Dummerston, Newfane and Brookline areas of Windham County, Vermont. It is not an old-growth forest, but it is being preserved to become one in the future.

This land is one of the last remaining unfragmented large parcels in the region. It is remarkable for its tall hardwoods, hemlock-filled ravines, stunning views, stone walls and a curious rock structure known as “the monument.” It includes deer wintering yards and a variety of forest types including hardwood savannas and hemlock “cathedrals.” There are several wetlands and vernal pools that host a variety of amphibians including the rare Jefferson Salamander.

The significant features of this land include panoramic views from the highest elevations, topographic benches left behind by a series of glaciations and by more recent flooding events, cliffs created by uplift and continental collisions eons ago, a dramatic and active landslide area, numerous rich forest sites including a cove with incredibly tall trees including shagbark hickories, There are forests of all ages, large maple, oak, ash, hickory, hemlock, and white pine trees, and grasslands that provide nesting sites for numerous bird species and corridors for wildlife and species movement, adaptability, and resiliency.

Two transmission lines cross the preserve, which ecologists and botanists recognize as valuable early-successional/shrub-scrub habitat that these rights-of-way provide.