NEWPORT CITY — Visitors are being asked to share their space at Bluffside Farm with some special guests.

The farm owned by Vermont Land Trust is also the nesting site for pairs of bald eagles.

The eagles, once rare in this area, have returned to the shores of Lake Memphremagog but they and their nests are still protected under a federal act. They are easily disturbed and can abandon their nests or fledglings.

The farm has created a 330-foot buffer zone called the Eagle Nest Buffer around the wooded central forest of the farm where bald eagles have nested in the past.

A map shows the mowed trail that goes well around the buffer zone is on the land trust’s website and at the site to help visitors avoid disturbing the magnificent creatures. Signs mark the buffer zone area.

The map also notes that there is construction underway again this season on the new recreational path that will link the farm to the bike trail and Prouty Beach across Scott’s Cove.

This spring and summer, construction vehicles will be using the main farm road.

Visitors will notice orange flagging on the farm around construction areas. Updates will be posted on the website and on the farm.

In other Bluffside Farm news, the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps will be back growing vegetables at the farm, after a year off due to COVID-19 restrictions. These are paid summer jobs which are open now, according to the land trust.

And for the first time, individual plots will be available to community members.

Applications are open until April 15 for the 25- by 25-foot plots at https://vlt.org/bluffside-news/garden-plots-2021-bluffside

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