Vermont Fish and Wildlife officials have closed 13 cliffs to climbing and hiking to protect nesting peregrine falcons, and more cliffs may still be closed.
State officials annually close portions of cliffs where the falcons nest and the trails leading to those cliff areas.
These sites will remain closed until August 1 or until Fish and Wildlife officials determine the risk to nesting falcons has passed.
Officials said biologists are just now identifying which cliffs are occupied by peregrine falcons, and not all sites have been visited. Also, if nesting falcons choose new sites, additional sites may be added to the closed list.
Peregrines are vulnerable to human disturbance on or above a nesting cliff and the cliffs are closed to improve the odds for successful nesting.
Nesting peregrine falcons also recently forced the closure of several areas in Acadia National Park.
The cliffs recently closed in Vermont are:
- Bolton Notch (Bolton) – UUW cliff – cliff access and climbing closed
- Bone Mountain (Bolton) – portions closed to climbing
- Deer Leap (Bristol) – cliff-top and climbing closed
- Eagle Ledge (Vershire) – closed to hiking and climbing
- Dummerston Quarry (Dummerston) – upper quarry closed
- Fairlee Palisades (Fairlee) – cliff-top closed
- Hazen’s Notch (Lowell) – portions closed to climbing
- Marshfield Mt (Marshfield) – portions closed to climbing
- Mt Horrid (Rochester) – Great Cliff overlook closed
- Nichols Ledge (Woodbury) – cliff-top and climbing closed
- Prospect Rock (Johnson) – cliff-top overlook and climbing closed
- Red Rocks Park (S. Burlington) – southern cliff access closed
- Rattlesnake Point (Salisbury) – southern overlook closed
- Snake Mountain (Addison) – entire western trail closed