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    • This is a Non-Federal dataset covered by different Terms of Use than Data.gov.

    Vermont Designated Natural Areas

    Metadata Updated: January 17, 2026

    Under Natural Areas Law (10 Vermont Statutes Annotated, Chapter 83 � 2607) the FPR commissioner, with the approval of the governor, may designate and set aside areas in the state forests and state parks as natural areas. There are 33 designated natural areas in Vermont. In many cases, these are sites which have retained some "wilderness character," though the law is quick to explain that this doesn't mean it has to be completely natural and undisturbed by humans. Sites which support rare or vanishing species of plants and animals or areas of unique ecological, geological, scenic or contemplative recreational value are also candidates for designation. The purpose of a state natural area is ostensibly "for the use of present and future residents of the State." This has meant in practice that most natural areas are managed to perpetuate the characteristics that led to their recognition as outstanding natural sites. In the case of some natural areas, this has meant minimal public information is developed, to discourage visitation that could result in resource damage. Other natural areas are located in popular recreation sites and host thousands of visitors every year. While natural areas are protected, they are open to compatible uses, including research, hiking and nature study; because natural areas are undeveloped, there are few devices to safeguard or protect visitors from falling or slippery rocks and other hazards.

    Access & Use Information

    Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. Non-Federal: This dataset is covered by different Terms of Use than Data.gov. License: Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike

    Downloads & Resources

    Dates

    Metadata Created Date September 2, 2022
    Metadata Updated Date January 17, 2026

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from Vermont Open Geodata Portal

    Other Data Resources

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Created Date September 2, 2022
    Metadata Updated Date January 17, 2026
    Publisher Agency of Natural Resources, GIS
    Maintainer
    Identifier https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=10cb052d348745a785fbd47f3f366031&sublayer=187
    Data First Published 2017-01-23T19:36:04.000Z
    Data Last Modified 2025-12-29T16:50:00.000Z
    Category geospatial
    Public Access Level public
    Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
    Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
    Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
    Categories {{categories}}
    Harvest Object Id 793032e9-a2a6-4975-bae6-e5f775c81c8e
    Harvest Source Id 24b4ec67-cad4-4235-b8af-afaa3907ff2e
    Harvest Source Title Vermont Open Geodata Portal
    Homepage URL https://geodata.vermont.gov/datasets/VTANR::vermont-designated-natural-areas
    License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial -73.3558,43.0999,-71.8421,45.0150
    Source Datajson Identifier True
    Source Hash 97f808b32b41d9ff5dcb29075a11b2d017c31ba94ca1d7fc05b264691c69b41e
    Source Schema Version 1.1
    Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -73.3558, 43.0999, -73.3558, 45.0150, -71.8421, 45.0150, -71.8421, 43.0999, -73.3558, 43.0999}

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