Scanlon Bog

Scanlon Bog was briefly described by Hub Vogelmann in part 2 of Natural areas of Vermont [1969]. According to Vogelmann, the bog is in the town of Brandon in Rutland County; however, the GPS coordinates given by him happen to be in the town of Leicester in Addison County. I assume Vogelmann obtained his GPS coordinates from a USGS hardcopy map, in which case they should probably be taken with a grain of salt. In any case the precise location of Scanlon Bog remained a bit of a mystery (to me) until recently.

I used the iNaturalist Explore tool to find bog plants in the general area specified by Vogelmann. These seemed to be clustered in an area just east of Town Farm Road in Brandon. On July 15, 2023, I traveled to this area, parked the car along the side of the road, and looked around. I was surprised to find a small sign in the trees that read: Natural Area, managed by The Nature Conservancy. I found Scanlon Bog!

Okay, that's the good news. The bad news is that the bog was impenetrable due to high water. I walked along the edge of a woods looking for an entry point but the water prevented access to the interior of the bog. I know it's accessible since numerous people have posted observations in Scanlon Bog. Oh well, I'll just have to try again at a later time,.

RESOURCES

• The Nature Conservancy sign is at GPS coordinates (43.84127, -73.07976)
• "Scanlon Bog" in: Indridason, Louise and Ottar (1974). "Vermont's Natural Areas: Part 5, Bogs." Vermont Life 28 (4), 57–59.
• Scanlon Bog (16 acres), Vermont Chapter of The Nature Conservancy: Visitation Guidelines
• Scanlon Bog in the Brandon Town Plan

Posted on July 17, 2023 12:12 AM by trscavo