This unimproved property protects scenic ridgetop and critical public watershed.
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Property Name: Lenox Mountain
(aka: Osceola Realty Trust)
Towns: Lenox, Richmond
Activities: Hiking, hunting
Special features: Scenic ridgetop
Hiking difficulty: Expert — no trails; rugged terrain
GPS: 42.3914, -73.3172 (center of parcel)
This wooded parcel is a small (29 acres) but important piece of the conservation puzzle that is Yokun Ridge. Most of Lenox Mountain (the middle section of Yokun Ridge) is protected by Mass Audubon or by the Town of Lenox. This parcel completes a gap in the protected matrix.
The parcel (“Osceola Realty Trust”) is mostly covered in hemlock with a small section of hardwood forest at the highest points. With extremely steep slopes, this forest’s role in slowing erosion is essential.
A nearby parcel (16 acres, “Williams”) was conveyed by BNRC to the Town of Lenox in 2016. The parcel protects a portion of the watershed of the Town of Lenox drinking water supply. The property was obviously logged in the not-too-distant past, but before BNRC acquired it in 1982. Today’s forest is a typical hardwood forest with lots of maple, red oak, and lots and lots of beech.
Directions:
This parcel has no parking and no trails. Access is from the fire road at the end of Osceola Road in Richmond.