On April 8, 2024, VNRC and our partners at Audubon Vermont submitted formal comments to the U.S. Forest Service on proposed management alternatives for the Telephone Gap Integrated Resource Project (IRP), which outlines a wide variety of proposed forest and natural resources management activities in the Green Mountain National Forest, Rochester, and Middlebury Ranger Districts in Vermont.

Read more background about the Telephone Gap IRP and our involvement thus far here.

VNRC and Audubon Vermont had previously submitted comments in Spring 2023 encouraging the Forest Service to develop one or more alternatives to their initial IRP that better promote ecological forestry and diverse management goals while protecting and expanding late-successional/old-growth forest characteristics. The Forest Service then provided four alternatives to their initially proposed IRP, and asked for final public comment on these proposed alternatives by April 8th.

We spent significant time, resources and dedicated expertise to research and evaluate these proposed alternatives, their impact on forest health, carbon sequestration and storage, watershed health, wildlife habitat, ecosystem services, and economic and recreational opportunities. As part of our work we engaged Dr. Bill Keeton, an expert on forest carbon management, ecologically-based silvicultural systems, old-growth forests, and sustainable forest management policy to help us provide recommendations to the Forest Service. You can read the full comments that we submitted on April 8th below.