The Joseph Battell Wilderness is one of eight

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

s in the

Green Mountain National Forest Green Mountain National Forest is a United States National Forest, national forest located in Vermont, a temperate broadleaf and mixed forest typical of the New England/Acadian forests ecoregion. The forest supports a variety of wildlife, includi ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. The wilderness area, created by the New England Wilderness Act of 2006, is named in honor of

Joseph Battell Joseph Battell (July 15, 1839 – February 23, 1915) was a publisher and philanthropist from Middlebury, Vermont. Battell is credited with preserving Vermont forest land including the land for Camel's Hump State Park. The Joseph Batte ...

(1839–1915), a philanthropist and environmentalist from

Middlebury, Vermont Middlebury is the shire town (county seat) of Addison County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 9,152. Middlebury is home to Middlebury College and the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History. History One of ...

. The wilderness consists of managed by the

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

. There are numerous mountains in the area with altitudes of at least , including (from south to north to east): the Great Cliffs (), Mount Horrid (), Cape Lookoff Mountain (), Gillespie Peak (), Romance Mountain (), Worth Mountain (), Monastery Mountain (), and Philadelphia Peak (). The core of the area, from Monastery Mountain to Worth Mountain to Romance Mountain, was bequeathed as a "park" to

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

by Battell in 1915. Middlebury College sold nearly all of Battell's lands to the Forest Service in the 1930s and 1950s. It was the sale of these lands that prompted the Federal government to create the northern unit of the Green Mountain National Forest. The

Long Trail The Long Trail is a hiking trail located in Vermont, running the length of the state. It is the oldest long-distance trail in the United States, constructed between 1910 and 1930 by the Green Mountain Club. The club remains the primary organiza ...

crosses the entire length of the Joseph Battell Wilderness from Brandon Gap on its south edge to

Middlebury Gap Middlebury Gap, is a mountain pass in the Green Mountains of Vermont. The height of land of the pass is located in Addison County. On the southeast side of the height of land, the notch is drained by the Robbins Branch, thence into the Hancock B ...

on its north edge. The wilderness is traversed by several other hiking trails including the Sucker Brook Trail.

References

Wilderness areas of Vermont IUCN Category Ib Protected areas of Addison County, Vermont Green Mountain National Forest Protected areas established in 2006 2006 establishments in Vermont {{Vermont-protected-area-stub

See also

References