Forest Service revises habitat plan

MANCHESTER CENTER - The US Forest Service will continue implementing the Early Successional Habitat Creation project on the Green Mountain National Forest’s Manchester Ranger District following a review of changes to approved management activities. The changes, which include the reduction in new road construction and associated timber harvest treatments, were made in response to remaining public concerns following the project decision.    
The project was originally analyzed in a 2019 environmental assessment with a decision to harvest timber over a 15-year period to improve habitat for neotropical migrant passerine birds - or perching birds - and other wildlife species requiring early successional habitats. The project decision included up to 15,000 acres of harvest treatments throughout the Manchester Ranger District with up to 25 miles of permanent or temporary road construction to access forested areas for timber harvest activities.  
Although the project was approved for implementation beginning in late 2019, the Forest Service reconsidered the original decision due to public concerns with the amount of planned road construction and level of opportunity for public engagement. Working with its partners, the Forest Service has dropped all harvest treatment areas beyond one-half mile from existing permanent roads and is limiting road construction to 8.6 miles of temporary roads. These changes were made to directly address concerns associated with potential adverse resource impacts from road construction and to better align with direction in the 2006 Green Mountain National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan.
Martina Barnes, Manchester District Ranger, coordinated review of changes to the approved activities by Forest Service resource specialists to determine if they resulted in effects not in alignment with the original environmental assessment. For more information contact Jay Strand at (802) 767-4261, ext. 5522, or jay.strand@usda.gov.