Towns:
Chittenden, Goshen

Acreage:
4,700

Topography:
Goshen Mountain at 3,292 feet, the Cape at 2,635 feet

Water:
Steam Mill Brook, Puss and Kill Brook, Baker Brook

Natural Features:
Largest old-growth forest in Vermont

Points of Interest:
Research Natural Area

Although only the existing Cape Research Natural Area is considered to be old-growth, much of the forest that surrounds the area is mature and would grow into old-growth conditions in a matter of decades. Protecting the entire area would increase the ecological integrity of the existing old-growth community, and keep it from further fragmentation. Already, the recent Forest Service Baker Brook timber sale, adjacent to the Cape Research Natural Area, decreased the size of the intact, mature forest.

A larger old-growth stand would allow the flora and fauna in the existing Research Natural Area to spread to the surrounding forest, resulting in a more resilient and stable forest.

A well-established biological principle holds that larger patches of old-growth forest are better than smaller stands. Research indicates that old-growth areas must be at least 500 to 1,000 acres in size in order to have a sufficient interior area-to-edge ratio, which provides the habitat conditions required by old-growth dependent species. The current designation of 290 acres is insufficient to protect its rare and priceless qualities.