Town Analyses > Prosper Valley > Ecological Landscape

Wildlife & Habitat

The varying plant communities and topography of the Prosper Valley supports a wide variety of animals – from wood frogs found in the vernal pools, to beavers in the hollows, actively damming streams and brooks, to deer at the edges of open fields, to coyote and bobcat traversing the ridgelines. Bird species in the area are diverse, and recently, the bald eagle has been found to have returned to the Connecticut River Valley!

In particular, the contiguous forestlands of the Prosper Valley have been found to be a significant black bear corridor in southern Vermont. The topography and plant communities make the Valley an ideal habitat for the black bear. The herbaceous plants found in the low, wet areas provide a good source of forage in the spring when bears emerge from hibernation, and the berries of the forested areas provide high-calorie summer nutrition. In the fall, carbohydrate- and fat-rich beechnuts and acorns are available as the bears migrate to higher, dryer forested areas before hibernating.

Snags - a Good Home for Wildlife

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Black bear scat, Pomfret

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Forest tent caterpillars

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A Butterfly in the Prosper Valley

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A beaver pond in Barnard

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