Battell Wilderness Established,

Banning Motors in 12,300 Acres

On Dec. 1, the New England Wilderness Act officially became law when it was signed by President Bush, Green Mountain National Forest (GMNF) Supervisor Meg Mitchell noted this week.

The northern part of the GMNF includes thousands of acres of land west of Route 100 in the towns of Pittsfield, Rochester, Hancock and Granville. One of the largest new wilderness areas, the so-called Battell Wilderness Area, includes most of the east slope of the Green Mountains stretching between Route 17 north to Route 125.

The Wilderness Act establishes about 42,000 acres of new wilderness areas in all, as well as a new National Recreation Area in the Moosealmoo area east of Brandon. Now, Mitchell said, the Forest Service looks forward to "engaging people in implementing the new 2006 Forest Plan," which will include these new area designations.

"No matter where people came out on the Wilderness debate of the past few months, we now have an important opportunity to work together to implement good work across all areas of the forest under the Forest Plan," she said.

There are some differences between the final Congressional Act and the wilderness recommendations in the revised 2006 Forest Plan that was completed in June. The most notable difference, she pointed out is the creation of the new 12,300 acre Joseph Battell Wilderness located in the Towns of Goshen, Hancock, Ripton, and Rochester.

Ninety-five percent of this new wilderness area was formed from high elevation forests that were designated for natural or backcountry areas under the 2006 Forest Plan. The Lye Brook Wilderness will also be expanded by about 2,300 acres; again, mostly from land use designations that were backcountry.

Recreation Area

The Act also establishes the 15,800-acre Moosalamoo region as a National Recreation Area. The Moosalamoo region, located in the Towns of Brandon, Goshen, Hancock, Leicester, Ripton, and Salisbury, has long been recognized and managed as an area with unique recreation, aesthetic and cultural resource values.

The new Moosalamoo National Recreation Area will continue to emphasize these values along with its educational value, unique ecological conditions, and wildlife habitats as a working forest in cooperation with the local towns and the Moosalamoo Association.

No Immediate Change

According to the US Forest Service, the new Wilderness designation will not result in any immediate difference and, in many places, the land use changes will go unnoticed. The Forest Service will now have to identify and inform the public about these new area designations. Scott Haas, Wilderness Coordinator for the Green Mountain National Forest, said,

"On the ground, we may need to think about how the public is going to enter and enjoy these areas. That may lead to new parking and signs.

"We also plan to make information about these areas available to the public and work with landowners and towns."