Conte Refuge Update

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Created on Wednesday, 11 November 2015 21:34

Written by Camille DeLongis

The Department of Fish and Wildlife is now in the process of revising their draft plan, which will be used to manage the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge for the next 15 years.

Those revisions are based on public comments that were submitted to the state. The comment period closed on November 16th.

People from all over the Northeast Kingdom voiced their opinion through comments, both in writing and verbally (at a hearing), about how thousands of acres of Northeastern Vermont will be managed.

In the draft plan, Fish and Wildlife lists four possible alternatives (A through D) for how the land can be managed. Each option would grow the size of the refuge, with A adding the least amount of land, and D adding the most. The state's preferred alternative, C, would grow the refuge by 47, 612 acres. The majority of people who submitted comments were against the refuge growing any larger.

To see a more in depth outline of how the four alternatives will manage the Conte Refuge, you can click here.

Mike O'Hara, from St. Johnsbury, says that he likes option A the best because it would only grow the refuge by 185 acres, and it would change access to the land. He argues that in the past, people have always used those lands, and yet species survived and thrived.

He goes on to say, "We don't have the economic resources to turn this land in to none tax paying roles, and to take it away from the people that have to pay for it...Alternative D is positively scary adding 235,000 acres."

Mike Bard, of Waterbury agrees, saying, "I do believe the refuge has a purpose, but we can't keep purchasing more and more federal lands."

Bard believes the state cannot continue to purchase more refuge land because they cannot take care of what they already have. He believes Fish and Wildlife should concentrate their efforts on better managing the lands they already own.

In the preferred alternative, two miles of snowmobiling trails would be eliminated, in order to design a new shorter trail that would lead to a different location. Snowmobilers value Fish and Wildlife's efforts to create a new trail, but do not want to compromise two miles of existing trails to achieve that.

Matt Tetrault, from the Vermont Association of Snowmobilers, has submitted comments regarding this concern. 

He said, "We're concerned about this section because it allows the Brighton Snowmobile Club, as well as our membership, access to higher terrain where there is better snow at the beginning of the season, and at the end of the season."

VAST represents snowmobilers all over the state.

Steve McLeod is a member of the Vermont Traditions Coalition, and he is fighting alternative D because it would ban snowmobiling in the entire refuge.

Fish and Wildlife is urging people to understand that with their preferred alternative, there would be some changes, but the landscape would be similar to what they already have. When their revisions are finished, they will submit the final plan to their regional director. She will choose the alternative that will guide management over the next 15 years. They are expecting that decision sometime next year.

Conte Update from NewsLINC on Vimeo.