Vermont's Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation is looking for feedback about a new plan for managing state lands in central Vermont's Worcester Range.
The roughly 19,000-acre area includes several hugely popular areas for hiking, mountain biking, snow mobiling and hunting. It spans the towns of Elmore, Worcester, Middlesex, Waterbury and Stowe. And it includes Elmore and Hunger mountains.
There are more than 43 trails in the Worcester Range area. It's home to at least 15 rare or uncommon plants across a host of ecosystems. And the forest is one of the biggest stretches of continuous wildlife habitat in the state, connecting the Green Mountain spine to the highlands of northeastern Vermont.
State regulators are proposing 13 commercial timber harvests there on about 1,900 acres, or 10% of the land.
They also want to control invasive species creeping up from the I-89 corridor.
The new plan will decide how the area is managed for the next two decades. Public comment runs from December 13 through February 2. You can learn more about the plan at two public meetings — Dec.13 from 6-8 p.m. at Doty Memorial School in Worcester or Dec. 19 at the same time at Stowe High School.
Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or contact reporter Abagael Giles:
_
