Bristol Cliffs Wilderness

The Bristol Cliffs Wilderness is one of eight wilderness areas in the Green Mountain National Forest in the U.S. state of Vermont. The area, near Lincoln, Vermont, is managed by the U.S. Forest Service. With a total of 3750 acre, the wilderness is the smallest in Vermont. It was created by the Eastern Wilderness Areas Act of 1975, which makes it one of the oldest wilderness areas in the state.

The Eastern Wilderness Areas Act set aside 6500 acre for Bristol Cliffs Wilderness, including 2725 acre of private property claimed to have been improperly seized by eminent domain. On September 28–29, 1975, a subcommittee of the U.S. Senate held a public hearing in Bristol, Vermont to receive testimony on a bill intended to rectify the situation. The bill later passed Congress and was signed into law on April 16, 1976. The bill reduced the area of the Bristol Cliffs Wilderness to 3775 acre, in effect returning the disputed land to the local landowners. This marked the first (and only) time in U.S. history that a wilderness area was subsequently reduced in size.