Bristol Cliffs Wilderness, a protected area in the Green Mountain National Forest near Lincoln, Vermont, is among the state’s oldest wilderness areas and the smallest in Vermont at about 3,750 acres. Created under the Eastern Wilderness Areas Act of 1975, it became unusual in American wilderness history when its original 6,500-acre designation included private land disputed by local owners. After a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing in Bristol and a bill signed into law on April 16, 1976, the wilderness was reduced to 3,775 acres and the contested land was effectively returned. It remains the first and only U.S. wilderness area ever reduced in size after designation.

Lincoln, Vermont · USA