HOME    NEWS & EVENTS   RESOURCES   FACTS & STATS   SNOWMOBILING SAFETY   ORGANIZATIONS   ABOUT ACSA  NEWS & OPINION Back to News & Opinion Main Page Green Mountain National Forest (GMNF) introduces five alternate plans for the future management of the Forest. Posted: 7/9/2004 Bryant M. Watson Executive Director VAST Dear Fellow Snowmobilers, For the past eighteen months the staff of the Green Mountain National Forest (GMNF) have been working on alternative proposals for a revised Management Plan for the Forest. Last week the Supervisor of the Forest, through a series of public meetings, introduced five alternate plans for the future management of the Forest. As most of you are aware, the Vermont Wilderness Association had proposed that land designated as Wilderness more than double. Their proposal would have added some 84,000 acres of Wilderness to the Forest! Thanks to the level headedness of the Management Staff of the Forest, none of the proposed alternatives include that level of new Wilderness. Attached to this e-mail you will find information on all of the proposed alternatives. The VAST Board of Directors is currently reviewing those alternatives and they will vote at their July meeting as to which alternative(s) they can support. It appears that Alternative A & B are the most friendly to snowmobiling and do not include the loss of any snowmobile trails. Alternatives C, D, & E would close the Up/Down Trail on Glastenbury Mountain. None of the proposals would sever any current corridor trails or access trails connecting to the Statewide Snowmobile Trails System (SSTS). Please review the attached information and let your County Director know your feeling about the proposed alternatives. Also, for additional information and/or to contact the Forest Service with your opinion please go to the following website http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/gmfl/index.htm. Click below to view the various documents: Alternative Comparisons - Compares Alternatives by Issue   Acerage Comparison by Alternative - Compares Draft Management Area Acerages and Percentages for each Alternative.   Pie Charts GMNF Alternatives - Compares Draft Management Area Percentages by Alternative.   Public Involvement Timeline - Shows what the Public Process has been and what the schedule is for the future.   The Forest Service will be introducing its Draft EIS in early November, so our time is limited and we need to act quickly. Thanks for your help and support for the future of snowmobiling in the Green Mountain National Forest. It serves the future of our great sport in Vermont. Bryant M. Watson Executive Director VAST 41 Granger Road Barre VT 05641 802-229-0005 802-223-4316 fax bmwatson@vtvast.org Browse other news releases Have News or an Event? If you have snowmobile related news or events that you would like to publish on this site, please contact us.