Shepard Hill Forest
Shepard Hill Road : Worcester, VT 05682
Washington County, Vermont
Farm Description
Shepard Hill Forest is an ideal Vermont woodlot investment opportunity, supported by well-stocked stands of maple and ash, established access, surveyed land and level terrain. The property is in the rural town of Worcester, just a short drive north of the capital city of Montpelier. There are 400’ of road frontage along Shepard Hill Road, an unmaintained Class IV town road. The frontage in this area is level and offers an existing driveway leading into the forest. Once on the property an internal access road leads into the center of the land, east of Worcester Brook. From the terminus of this road, an excellent network of old forestry trails covers the entire property.
The forest offers many of favorable landscape attributes such as primarily well-drained soils on the upland terrain, potential sweeping views of the Worcester Range and many gently-sloping areas interspersed with various short steep areas. Worcester Brook runs through the land and offers a nice falls and small gorge area. The property’s access and terrain offers an excellent opportunity to develop a camp on the property.
The timber resource provides a compelling case for current and future value appreciation. Typical of well-drained upland sites in Vermont, species composition is dominated by the hardwoods (91% of total volume). Sugar maple is the primary species with common associates of ash, red maple and yellow birch. Minor components of softwoods exist where soil drainage is poor and/or shallow to bedrock. Generally the timber resource consists of three ages, with the majority of volume present in the 10-18” size class. An advanced sapling age class with diameters of 4”-7” has become established after a harvest conducted some 20 years ago. Thinning last occurred in 1997 with all stands now fully stocked. The full stocking, diverse diameter distribution, and appropriately-spaced stems well positions the forest for exceptional asset appreciation over the coming decade. Thinning is possible at any time, providing near-term income opportunity. An estimated standing Capital Timber Value (CTV) is
