Densmore Hill WMA

Birds of Interest

Densmore Hill Wildlife Management Area is home to a wide variety of birds. Ruffed grouse, turkey, and woodcock are present. Herons and mallard ducks frequent the beaver flowage. Typical northern hardwood species of songbirds such as ovenbirds, black and white warblers, vireos, phoebes, chickadees, nuthatches, and downy and hairy woodpeckers can be seen and heard. Red-winged blackbirds and Baltimore orioles nest near the beaver flowage.

About this Location

Densmore Hill Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is a 252-acre parcel owned by the State of Vermont and managed by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. It is bordered by Morley Road on the west and by Cady Brook on the southwest in the town of Hartland. Parking along Folding Hill Road and Morley Road. Please be careful if you park along Morley Road. Try to get completely off the road surface.

Ranging in elevation from 1,249 feet to 1,548 feet, the parcel’s terrain is rugged, sloping steeply up to the north and east from Cady Brook to a ridgeline that runs northwest to southeast. The land slopes more gently from the top of the ridge down to a hollow containing two drainages. From there it climbs steeply again to the highest elevation on Scott Hill.

Densmore Hill WMA is almost completely forested. It is mostly a young northern hardwood community made up of sugar maple, paper birch, and beech, with white pine and hemlock scattered throughout. An old apple orchard has been released to provide beneficial habitat for wildlife. In the recent past, a variety of wildlife management techniques, including patch cuts, have been carried out to provide habitat for ruffed grouse. Den trees, snags, and dead and downed material are maintained as important habitat features. Turkeys can now be hunted in two regulated seasons. Sandy Macy photo. Cady Brook flows along the western and southern boundaries of the WMA, and a beaver pond can be found at the southwestern corner. Significant natural communities occurring on Densmore Hill WMA include a dry oak–oak-hickory-hophornbeam forest and two seeps.

Features

  • Restrooms on site

  • Wheelchair accessible trail

  • Entrance fee

Content from Densmore Hill Wildlife Management Area guide and map

Last updated December 3, 2023