Roadless Area Protection
National Forest roadless areas are some of the least fragmented, most remote areas left in Vermont. Large roadless areas and old forest habitat are scarce in the Northeast and are important safe havens for rare native plant and animal species that tend to disappear from more developed areas. AMC would like to see these areas managed to maintain and enhance their value as old forest habitat.
The forest plan does a good job of managing large roadless areas for their ecological values.
- The forest service identified 124,321 acres in their new inventory of large roadless areas. Many of the areas identified as important by the conservation community for new wilderness were placed into management areas that recognized their remote, backcountry recreational and ecological values.
- Nearly half (172,000 acres, or 43%) of the national forest will be managed as large, unfragmented remote habitat, with 36% of this habitat allowed to grow back to old growth conditions.
- Through collaboration with The Nature Conservancy and scientists, the forest service also ensured that at least 10% of all natural communities found on the forest would be set aside from active management in an “ecological reference area network” for scientific study so we can better understand how land management affects ecosystems.
Wilderness Recommendations
We value wilderness areas for their opportunities for outstanding backcountry recreation, drinking water protection, wildlife habitat, or sometimes, just their existence. Wilderness denotes areas on public lands that have been officially created by Congress to be managed in perpetuity for their wild character. Hiking, hunting, fishing, camping, snowshoeing and the like are allowed in wilderness areas. Logging, most development and motors are not.
The final Green Mountain forest plan recommends 27,473 acres as new wilderness. Glastenbury Mountain, near Bennington, would be a 22,425-acre new wilderness area, and approximately 5,000 acres would be added to existing wilderness areas. In early April, Vermont's Congressional Delegation released the Vermont Wilderness Act of 2006, that build upon the forest service recommendations.
AMC applauds both the forest service and the congressional delegation for proposing new wilderness, but would like the US Congress to pass an even larger bill that is more protective of Glastenbury Mountain and of the high elevation marsh complexes east of the existing Lye Brook Wilderness. Click here for more information.
Opportunities for Quiet Recreation
We appreciate the final plan's recognition and protection of the Long Trail and Appalachian Trail as remote backcountry hiking trails central to the character of this forest. The forest plan also recognized the importance of the Moosalamoo region near Middlebury for its rich recreational opportunities and tremendous economic benefit to surrounding communities. The Vermont Wilderness Act of 2006 creates a Mooselamoo National Recreation Area in this area.
All Terrain Vehicles
One of our major concerns with the new forest plan is the opportunity for all terrain vehicle (ATV) trails to be constructed in the Green Mountain National Forest. The forest service is proposing to allow summer-use ATV trails to cross the national forest to connect existing trails on adjacent private lands. Due to the noise, pollution, and soil erosion these vehicles cause, and the forest service's lack of funds and personnel to prevent illegal use from spreading to the rest of the national forest, we believe ATVs should be kept off the national forest. Click here for more information on the impact of ATVs.
Timber Management
Well managed, sustainable timber harvesting provides a range of economic benefits to surrounding communities and businesses. The Forest Service is in an outstanding position to test and teach the best management practices for timber harvesting on surrounding private lands.
Forty-seven percent of the national forest has been classified as suitable for timber production, with a similar maximum harvest level as in the 1987 plan. The timber program describes creating a mosaic of forest age classes, with an emphasis on high quality sawtimber production. However, the forest plan provides almost no detailed standards or guidelines for how the timber program will be run. We are concerned that this lack of specificity will undermine the public's ability to participate in and understand timber management decisions, and will increase current conflicts over how forestry is practiced on the national forest.
