Yet again, Zack Porter of Standing Trees uses the opinion page of VTDigger to hyperbolize and selectively present information about public forest management plans to support his opinion, gin up opposition and disparage the qualified public servants that craft these plans pursuant to missions and mandates that provide for multiple-use management. It didn’t take me long to find the facts about proposed timber harvests in the Worcester Range Management Unit (representing 0.5% of the management unit each year for 20 years) and how they relate to Vermont Conservation Design, which Mr. Porter conveniently omits from his missive. The Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation’s FAQ document is especially helpful in this regard.
The same District Stewardship Team that Mr. Porter referred to as “principled” in his October opinion for their opposition to the Stowe-Smuggs connector prepared the Worcester Range plan. I suppose Mr. Porter finds them principled only when their opinions align with his.
No, Mr. Porter, the future of the wild Worcester range is not “hanging in the balance.” Nor have we broken “a promise to the mountains.” Your brand of advocacy is tired and misleading. Forest conservationists would be better served by advocates who deal in good faith with VTDigger readers and public land managers.
Kevin Anderson
Waitsfield
