TOWN OF WOODBURY
1672 VT RT 14
P.O. BOX 10
WOODBURY, VERMONT 05681
Town Clerk: clerk@woodburyvt.org
Treasurer: treasurer@woodburyvt.org
Phone: 802-456-7051
FAX: 802-456-8834
Web Site www.woodburyvt.org
December 1, 2021
RE: Woodbury Mountain Wilderness Preserve
To the Northeast Wilderness Trust:
This letter is written in support of the proposed Woodbury Mountain Wilderness Preserve by the Woodbury Town Select Board. The Woodbury Town Select Board voted 2-1 in favor of this proposal. While a majority of townspeople that wrote-in comments to the Woodbury Town Select Board or attended the November 22, 2021 Woodbury Town Select Board meeting were in favor of this proposal, there were a number of concerns raised by towns persons about this proposal that we are compelled to note:
1) The future conveyance of this parcel or sub-sections of this parcel to other entities beyond the Northeast Wilderness Trust in the future.
2) The maintenance of a diversity of hunting and fishing activities on this parcel as well as the need for hunters to register in order to access this parcel while other activities such as hiking do not require registration for access.
3) The development of any new trail networks and VAST trail access on the parcel that are not on existing class 4 roads maintained by the Town of Woodbury or previously classified trails.
4) The dispersal of funds generated from carbon credits for this parcel back to the towns persons of Woodbury. In addition, the maintenance of a current use designation for this parcel as currently exists while this parcel has been managed by EB Hyde for the Meyer family.
5) The guarantee that no industrial development (specifically wind and solar projects) will occur in this parcel in perpetuity.
6) The need for a local Town of Woodbury advisory committee to discuss concerns about this parcel into the future since tax payer funds are used as a component of the purchase of this parcel.
While the vote by the Woodbury Town Select Board does support the purchase of this parcel, we believe that the concerns of Woodbury towns persons need to be addressed by Northeast Wilderness Trust since the majority of this parcel is in the Town of Woodbury and since this parcel has a long legacy of ready access for hunting, fishing, trapping, hiking, snowshoeing, skiing, all-terrain vehicle and snowmobile use.
Sincerely,
The Woodbury Town Select Board