{"id":6225,"date":"2024-12-06T01:24:02","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T01:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.newat9.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/06\/forest-service-issues-draft-management-plan-for-72000-acres-in-rutland-county\/"},"modified":"2024-12-06T01:24:02","modified_gmt":"2024-12-06T01:24:02","slug":"forest-service-issues-draft-management-plan-for-72000-acres-in-rutland-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tech.newat9.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/06\/forest-service-issues-draft-management-plan-for-72000-acres-in-rutland-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Forest Service issues draft management plan for 72,000 acres in Rutland County"},"content":{"rendered":"


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U.S. Forest Service staff hold a public field trip in the Telephone Gap project area in 2021. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service
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After years of debate, the U.S. Forest Service issued a draft plan this week for managing more than 72,000 acres of public and private land, called the Telephone Gap Project, in Rutland County. The controversy largely focused on how much of the land should be opened to logging.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The plan, which spans Brandon, Chittenden, Goshen, Killington, Mendon, Pittsfield, Pittsford, and Stockbridge, has been controversial due to the amount of land it proposed for logging. Green Mountain National Forest land accounts for 45% of area. The Forest Service expects a final plan to be adopted in March, after the public has one last opportunity to make objections.<\/p>\n

U.S. Forest Service chose a version of the plan, called Alternative C, that differed from previous versions by focusing more on protecting old growth forest and prioritizing timber harvests that are ecologically sustainable.\u00a0<\/p>\n