US Forest Service closing some cliffs during falcon breeding

RUTLAND, Vt. – The U.S. Forest Service is closing temporarily some cliffs in the Green Mountain National Forest to protect the nests of peregrine falcons known to raise young there.

Each spring the Forest Service closes the Rattlesnake Cliff Area in Salisbury and the Mount Horrid-Great Cliff Area in Rochester from March 15 to Aug. 1. The state of Vermont closes a number of hiking trails as well near falcon breeding areas.

The Forest Service says falcons can already be seen near many Vermont nesting sites.

Last year 35 of 55 nesting falcon pairs in Vermont successfully raised 68 young peregrines.

Vermont’s peregrine falcon population was wiped out after World War II due to the use of the pesticide DDT. But since the 1980s, the species has been brought back.