On October 12, 2007, 622 acres of land in the Hollister Hill area of town, formerly owned by Virginia Stranahan, was deeded as a gift to the Town of Marshfield, via the Vermont Land Trust, who purchased the land from the heirs of Virginia Stranahan for the Town. The land is for the use, betterment and enjoyment of the people of the Town of Marshfield, as well as the public at large, in perpetuity.

The gifted land comes with some conservation minded restrictions on its use at the request of the Stranahan family and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board which provided about one-half of the funding for the purchase by the Vermont Land Trust.

Permitted Uses: Hunting, forestry, agriculture, education, hiking, biking, horseback riding, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, habitat and natural resource protection, historic preservation, snowmobiling on VAST trails.

Non Permitted Uses: No sub-division of the land, no development of the land, no ATVs or other motorized vehicles (except for trail maintenance, forestry, agricultural purposes, sugaring, emergency vehicles or other such use of motorized vehicles as may be permitted by the Selectboard consistent with the Management Plan and the conservation easements in effect).

Access: Parking lots with kiosks and maps are located on Hollister Hill Road near the end of the Thompson Road and on Jake Martin Road, on the left before the dead end.

Management: The Selectboard initially appointed a Stakeholders' group in coordination with the Conservation Commission to draft a Management Plan for the Towns’ benefit. This document will be updated as necessary. For continuing oversight, the Selectboard created a stewardship committee.

Public Input: This is OUR Town Forest. If you have any questions or concerns or would like to volunteer on the committee or to help with trail maintenance, mapping or other activity, please contact the Town Clerk. We welcome your input!