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Trails open on May 10, 2025.

New Trail Maps
Suggested Routes

Area of detail: High Ponds Farm / Burnt Mountain

High Ponds Farm Nature Preserve
Burnt Mountain Conservation Area
Bear Paw Pond Conservation Area

Two new map-brochures of the Hazen's Notch Trails were completed in January 2024. These map-brochures include suggested trail routes with descriptions of the trails. Trail numbers have changed on the new maps. New 2024 map-brochures with suggested routes replace the 2022 editions. The map-brochures can be found at the trailhead information sign boards at three locations: [P1] Hazen's Notch Welcome Center, [P2] Bear Paw Pond Conservation Area, and [P3] High Ponds Farm Nature Preserve. Links to the individual maps and their respective "Suggested Routes" are here:

  • (1)Bear Paw Pond Conservation Area Trail Map
  • (2)Bear Paw Pond Conservation Area Suggested Routes.jpg
  • (3)High Ponds Farm and Burnt Mountain Area Trail Map
  • (4)High Ponds Farm and Burnt Mountain Area Suggested Routes.jpg

Hazen's Notch Summer Camp 2025
Montgomery, Vermont

The Hazen's Notch Summer Camp schedule of camp sessions for 2025 has been posted. Enrollment is open.
Link to the Summer Camp page: Hazen's Notch Summer Camp
Link to a PDF file of the "Enrollment Application Form": Summer Camp Application 2025


New Trail Signs
Hazen's Notch Trails
Montgomery, Vermont

New Trail Signs
Hazen's Notch Trails

New trail signs have been designed for the Hazen's Notch Trails. The new signs are being designed and made with help from Brian Fox. Josh Goodhue is installing the signs over the winter. All of the old trail signs will be replaced by late spring 2024.

The 2024 sign replacement project began at the Hazen's Notch Welcome Center and the Bear Paw Pond Conservation Area in late December 2023. Sign replacement will progress to the High Ponds Farm Nature Preserve in February. The last segment of the sign replacement project will be to replace the old signs on the Burnt Mountain Conservation Area during April and early May 2024.

Look for new informational panels which will be installed later this winter at the Hazen's Notch Welcome Center, the Bear Paw Pond Conservation Area and the High Ponds Farm Nature Preserve. [01.08.24]


Dodge Trail
named in memory of John Rodney Dodge (1973-1954)
Flood Brook Bridge
High Ponds Farm (formerly known as The Dodge Farm)
Montgomery, Vermont

The Dodge Trail
Bridge over Flood Brook

The Dodge Trail is named in memory of John Rodney Dodge (1873-1954), who grew up on this property and lived here from 1876 to 1945. The trail had been known as "Lower Window Rock Trail". This is the trail which starts soon after passing the first beaver pond near the entrance to the High Ponds Farm. The trail follows a flat grade to a wooden bridge with railings which was originally built in 1994. The bridge was refurbished in 2022. Flood Brook is named after the people who, in the late 1800s, lived in a log cabin close to the brook, a short distance downstream from this bridge. The dry-wall foundation of the Flood family cabin remains.

Flood Brook is the outlet stream of the Moosewood Ponds, which receive water from three streams which rise on (1) Sugar Hill, (2) the High Meadow, and on (3) Burnt Mountain. After crossing Flood Brook, the Dodge Trail ascends, at first gradually and then moderately, to the Notch Trail. [01.06.24]


Hazen's Notch Summer Camp
The early years

Hazen's Notch Summer Camp
32nd Anniversary in 2025

Montgomery, Vermont

The Hazen's Notch Summer Camp celebrates its 32nd anniversay in 2025. The camp's origins date to 1990 when Rolf and Sharon Anderson purchased a 100-acre woodland with the intention of creating a site for a children's summer camp. With encouragement from James Tessman, the Franklin-Grand Isle County Forester, and from the Anderson's family and friends, the Bear Paw Pond and the adjacent trails became the center of focus for environmental education and outdoor skills for young people ages 6 to 15.

As the years passed, former campers started to play a significant role in leading and teaching campers. This has, to a large degree, helped to sustain the camp. Dozens of people have worked at the camp over the past 30 years. Special recognition goes to Deborah Benjamin, who along with Susan Shea and Rolf and Sharon Anderson, co-founded the Hazen's Notch Association, the parent organization of the summer camp. Debbie Benjamin was the Staff Naturalist for the Hazen's Notch Association and worked as a staff member of the camp for over 20 years. Josh Goodhue was 5 and a half years old when he came to the Hazen's Notch Summer Camp. Josh has been leading the camp for several years with a wonderful supporting staff of former campers. We look forward to a vibrant future for the camp.   [02.15.25]   Detailed history: History of Hazen's Notch Association


Flora and Fauna of Hazen's Notch

Spring wildflowers
High Ponds Farm Nature Preserve
Montgomery, Vermont

Water's Edge
High Ponds Farm Nature Preserve
Montgomery, Vermont

 

Forest flower
High Ponds Farm Nature Preserve
Montgomery, Vermont

 

Forest life
High Ponds Farm Nature Preserve
Montgomery, Vermont

 

Spring wildflower
High Ponds Farm Nature Preserve
Montgomery, Vermont

 

Eastern bluebird
High Ponds Farm Nature Preserve
Montgomery, Vermont

Reference: Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the branch of biology that classifies all living things. It was developed by the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus, who lived during the 18th Century, and his system of classification is still used today. Linnaeus invented binomial nomenclature, the system of giving each type of organism a genus and species name. He also developed a classification system called the taxonomic hierarchy, which today has eight ranks from general to specific: domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species.

The Taxonimic Hierarchy

A taxon (plural: taxa) is a group of organisms that are classified as a unit. This can be specific or general. For example, we could say that all humans are a taxon at the species level since they are all the same species, but we could also say that humans along with all other primates are a taxon at the order level, since they all belong to the order Primates. Species and orders are both examples of taxonomic ranks, which are relative levels of grouping organisms in a taxonomic hierarchy. The following is a brief description of the taxonomic ranks that make up the taxonomic hierarchy.

Domain

A domain is the highest (most general) rank of organisms. Linnaeus did invent some of the taxonomic ranks, but he did not invent the domain rank, which is relatively new. The term domain wasn't used until 1990, over 250 years after Linnaeus developed his classification system in 1735. The three domains of life are Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryota. Archaea are single-celled organisms similar to bacteria; some archaea live in extreme environments, but others live in mild ones. Eukaryota, or every living thing on earth that is not a bacterium or archaeon, is more closely related to the domain Archaea than to Bacteria. A domain is the highest (most general) rank of organisms. Linnaeus did invent some of the taxonomic ranks, but he did not invent the domain rank, which is relatively new. The term domain wasn't used until 1990, over 250 years after Linnaeus developed his classification system in 1735. The three domains of life are Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryota. Archaea are single-celled organisms similar to bacteria; some archaea live in extreme environments, but others live in mild ones. Eukaryota, or every living thing on earth that is not a bacterium or archaeon, is more closely related to the domain Archaea than to Bacteria.

Phylum

Before domains were introduced, kingdom was the highest taxonomic rank. In the past, the different kingdoms were Animalia, Plantae, Fungi, Protista, Archaea, and Bacteria (Archaea and Bacteria were sometimes grouped into one kingdom, Monera). However, some of these groupings, such as Protista, are not very accurate. Protista includes all eukaryotic organisms that are not animals, plants, or fungi, but some of these organisms are not very closely related to one another. There is no set agreement on the kingdom classification, and some researchers have abandoned it altogether. Currently, it continues to be revised; in 2015 researchers suggested splitting Protista into two new kingdoms, Protozoa and Chromista. Phylum (plural: phyla) is the next rank after kingdom; it is more specific than kingdom, but less specific than class. There are 35 phyla in the kingdom Animalia, including Chordata (all organisms with a dorsal nerve cord), Porifera (sponges), and Arthropoda (arthropods).

Class

Class was the most general rank proposed by Linnaeus; phyla were not introduced until the 19th Century. There are 108 different classes in the kingdom Animalia, including Mammalia (mammals), Aves (birds), and Reptilia (reptiles), among many others. The classes of Animalia that Linnaeus proposed are similar to the ones used today, but Linnaeus' classes of plants were based on attributes like the arrangement of flowers rather than relatedness. Today's classes of plants are different than the ones Linnaeus used, and classes are not frequently used in botany.

Order

Order is more specific than class. Some of Linnaeus' orders are still used today, such as Lepidoptera (the order of butterflies and moths). There are between 19-26 orders of Mammalia, depending on how organisms are classified-sources differ. Some orders of Mammalia are Primates, Cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), Carnivora (large carnivores/omnivores), and Chiroptera (bats).

Family

Family is, in turn, more specific. Some families in the order Carnivora, for example, are Canidae (dogs, wolves, foxes), Felidae (cats), Mephitidae (skunks), and Ursidae (bears). There are 12 total families in the order Carnivora.

Genus

Genus (plural: genera) is even more specific than family. It is the first part of an organism's scientific name using binomial nomenclature; the second part is the species name. An organism's scientific name is always italicized, and the genus name is capitalized while the species name is not. Genus and species are the only taxonomic ranks that are italicized. The scientific name for humans is Homo sapiens. Homo is the genus name, while sapiens is the species name. All other species in the genus Homo are extinct. Some were ancestral to humans, such as Homo erectus. Others lived at the same time, were closely related, and interbred with Homo sapiens, such as Homo neanderthalensis, the Neanderthals.

Species

Species is the most specific major taxonomic rank; species are sometimes divided into subspecies, but not all species have multiple forms that are different enough to be called subspecies. There are an estimated 8.7 million different species of organisms on Earth, but the vast majority have yet to be discovered and categorized. While each genus name is unique, the same species names can be used for different organisms. For example, Ursus americanus is the American black bear, while Bufo americanus is the American toad. The species name is always italicized, but never capitalized. It is the only taxonomic rank that is not capitalized. In scientific articles where the species name is used many times, it is abbreviated after the first full use by using just the first letter of the genus name along with the full species name. Homo sapiens is abbreviated to H. sapiens.

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