[2] With a total of 3,750 acres (1,520 ha), the wilderness is the smallest in Vermont.

The Eastern Wilderness Areas Act set aside 6,500 acres (2,600 ha) for Bristol Cliffs Wilderness, including 2,725 acres (1,103 ha) 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.

[6] The bill reduced the area of the Bristol Cliffs Wilderness to 3,775 acres (1,528 ha), 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.