A 45-day comment period on a proposal by Green Mountain National Forest staff concerning logging and other activities in the forest at Telephone Gap ended on March 13. A huge 94% of the comments regarding logging were against the proposal. According to a preliminary tally approximately 1,280 comments were opposed to the logging in the forest and only 81 in support. Another 13,000 individual signatures were sent in from across the country, as well as organizational opposition from 70 national and regional groups, including the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, Earthjustice, and 350Vermont.

This is not just a few tree huggers on the fringes. I believe the proposal struck a chord on deep public concern about climate change and protection of old forests, which keep huge amounts of climate-changing carbon out of the atmosphere.

Telephone Gap is only the latest example around the country of public outcry over logging old forests. I sense we may be at a pivotal moment in a national effort to bring the U.S. Forest Service policies into accord with today’s challenges surrounding climate change and into compliance with President Biden’s Executive Order 14072 to protect mature and old-growth forests to combat climate change.

Thank you to the many citizens who sent comments to the Forest Service concerning Telephone Gap. This level of public engagement is a great thing.

Daniel Batten

Bristol