Proposed site for overnight hut is denied, but search for another site encouraged.
I want to share some facts about the proposed Silver Lake Hut in Leicester.
I am very much against your proposal to construct a Silver Lake hut. I believe wilderness campsites should be a discovery, not a destination; at most I would advocate for a log lean-to.
Let me start by saying that I respect and support the idea of a hut system linking the recreational trail systems throughout Vermont; however, I believe that Silver Lake is not a good choice for the following reasons.
Context is important to the conversation about the appropriateness of a ‘backcountry hut’ (is that an oxymoron?) and the lack of such context is clearly evident in the recent letter by Eben Punderson on behalf of the Moosalamoo Association.
For the most part, the meeting was peaceable enough, although there were moments when opposing viewpoints threatened to derail the affable pretense of the occasion.
In brief, it would be a 1.5-story backcountry primitive hut that will accommodate up to 10 people, year-round, located on the east side of Silver Lake about 315 feet from the shore and not visible from the shoreline during months with tree foliage.
I just returned from the public informational meeting about the “hut” which is proposed to be built at Silver Lake, and I find myself both more opposed to the project than I was before I attended, and somewhat disillusioned.
A public hearing on the construction of a hut near Silver Lake in the Moosalamoo National Recreation Area is set for next Wednesday, June 8, at 6 p.m. in the downstairs function room of Café Provence in Brandon.
The Green Mountain National Forest Service is expected to decide on a plan for establishing a profit-generating “lodging opportunity” on Silver Lake this summer.
