Our Mission

Preserve the Land

The Isle La Motte Preservation Trust (ILMPT) is a non-profit organization founded in 1998, and based on Isle La Motte, Vermont, the northernmost island of Lake Champlain. We support efforts to conserve land, preserve historic island architecture, and support our local farms, working with partners such as the Vermont Preservation Trust, the Lake Champlain Land Trust, the Vermont Land Trust and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board. An important focus of our work has been the conservation of significant sites of the 460 million year old Chazy Fossil Reef, a world renowned geological treasure, which underlies and outcrops much of the bedrock of southern Isle La Motte. Two preserves protect the fossil rocks – the Fisk Quarry and the Goodsell Ridge Preserves.  Both are research and education sites protected in perpetuity by conservation easements co-held by the Lake Champlain Land Trust and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board.  In 2009 these Chazy Fossil Reef sites were awarded the prestigious designation of National Natural Landmark by the United States Department of the Interior. Our mission is to: