The Breadloaf 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 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, including beaver, moose, coyote, blac ...

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 sove ...

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 ...

. It was created by the

Vermont Wilderness Act of 1984 The Vermont Wilderness Act of 1984 () was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on June 19, 1984. The Act designated four new wilderness areas in the U.S. state of Vermont, while expanding one existing wilderness area. A total of of ne ...

and later expanded by the

New England Wilderness Act of 2006 The New England Wilderness Act of 2006 () was signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 1, 2006. The Act designated three (3) new wilderness areas in the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Vermont, while expanding five (5) exis ...

. With a total of , it is the largest wilderness area in Vermont. The area is managed by the

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Nationa ...

. Roughly half of the Breadloaf Wilderness, from its southern boundary at

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 Hancoc ...

to Mount Roosevelt in its interior, was bequeathed 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 ...

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 Batt ...

(1839–1915), a philanthropist and environmentalist from

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

, in 1915. The 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 organiz ...

traverses through the heart of the Breadloaf Wilderness, from Middlebury Gap to Lincoln Gap at its northern edge. This section of the Long Trail crosses at least ten peaks above , the highest of which is

Bread Loaf Mountain Bread Loaf Mountain is a mountain located in Addison County, Vermont, in the Breadloaf Wilderness in the Green Mountain National Forest. The mountain is part of the central Green Mountains. Bread Loaf Mountain is flanked to the northeast by ...

at . Additional access to the wilderness is provided by numerous side trails including (from south to north) the Burnt Hill Trail, the Skylight Pond Trail, the Emily Proctor Trail, the Clark Brook Trail, and the Cooley Glen Trail. Numerous wildlife species thrive in the wilderness.

Moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

and

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations grou ...

are said to be present in considerable numbers. Hikers have observed more than 100 forms of life, including at least 70 species of plants and 25 species of animals.

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite web , title=Breadloaf Wilderness , url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/gmfl/recarea/?recid=65041 , publisher=

United States 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 inc ...

, access-date=17 December 2019 {{cite web , title=Breadloaf Wilderness , url=https://wilderness.net/visit-wilderness/?ID=74 , website=Wilderness Connect , access-date=17 December 2019 {{cite map , author=Green Mountain Club , author-link=Green Mountain Club , title=Vermont's Long Trail: A Footpath in the Wilderness , year=2015 , type=Topographic map , scale=1:85,000 , cartography=Center for Community GIS , section=Map 5: Middlebury & Lincoln Gaps , edition=5th , isbn=978-1-888021-46-2 {{cite web , title=Observations at Breadloaf Wilderness , url=https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=124162&subview=grid&view=species , publisher=

iNaturalist iNaturalist is a social network of naturalists, citizen scientists, and biologists built on the concept of mapping and sharing observations of biodiversity across the globe. iNaturalist may be accessed via its website or from its mobile applica ...

, access-date=18 December 2019 {{cite web , title=H.R. 4198 — 98th Congress: Vermont Wilderness Act of 1984 , url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/98/hr4198 , website= GovTrack , date=1983 , access-date=26 December 2019 {{cite web , title=S. 4001 — 109th Congress: New England Wilderness Act of 2006 , url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/109/s4001 , website= GovTrack , date=2006 , access-date=26 December 2019 Wilderness areas of Vermont IUCN Category Ib Protected areas of Addison County, Vermont Green Mountain National Forest Protected areas established in 1984 1984 establishments in Vermont

See also

References