PRESS RELEASE: Standing Trees and Environmental Advocacy Clinic file comments to guide future planning for Vermont state lands

The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources leaves the public out of decision-making, omits economic and environmental analyses, and evades its obligation to conduct carbon emissions and flood risk assessments in its proposed "Lands Management Planning Rule"

Flooding in northern New England has become common following storms much smaller than the now-infamous rain event of July 10-11, 2023, pictured above. State and federal land management agencies do not routinely produce flood risk assessments for their land management plans, even through logging and road construction worsen downstream flooding. Photo excerpted from a report by the USGS and FEMA, "Flood of July 2023 in Vermont."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 20th, 2026

MEDIA CONTACT

Zack Porter, Standing Trees, zporter@standingtrees.org, (802) 552-0160

Click here for photos for press use.

MONTPELIER, Vt. (June 20, 2026) — Standing Trees and Vermont Law and Graduate School's Environmental Advocacy Clinic filed comprehensive comments this week on the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources' (VT ANR) proposed "Lands Management Planning Rule." The comments investigate the proposed rule's failures to meaningfully engage the public in decision making, conduct required economic and environmental impact analyses, and protect public trust water resources, among other shortcomings. A revised draft of the rule is expected to be submitted to Vermont's Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules in late 2026.

Filings submitted by Standing Trees included:

1. Comments on the latest draft and the scoping draft of the proposed rule

2. Expert reports on:

   1. The economic impacts of public land management, by Key Log Economics

   2. The water resources and biodiversity impacts of public land management, by FB Environmental Associates

   3. The climate change impacts of public land management, by William R. Moomaw, PhD Climate Scientist, Professor Emeritus TuIs University and, Distinguished Visiting Scientist at Woodwell Climate Research Center

Big Deer Mountain rises behind Osmore Pond in Groton State Forest, VT.

VT ANR is entrusted with managing 370,000 acres of publicly-owned state lands, primarily State

Forests, State Parks, and Wildlife Management Areas. Whether car camping in one of the numerous state park campgrounds scattered across Groton State Forest, canoe camping at Green River Reservoir State Park, fishing at Lake Bomoseen State Park, hiking at Willoughby State Forest, or birdwatching at Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area, Vermont state lands hold a special place in the hearts of Vermonters and visitors, alike. State lands span just 6% of Vermont's land area, but they play an outsized role supporting fish and wildlife habitat as well as "ecosystem services" like clean water, clean air, runoff control, and carbon storage. In fact, since 90% of state lands are located in forested headwaters, they are especially important for enhancing water quality and protecting downstream communities from flooding.

But VT ANR's proposed rule sidestepped required analyses for economic and environmental impacts, and failed to include any direction to state land managers to consider flooding and carbon emissions when planning for future state land management.

Vermont ANR can't claim that it doesn't know about these impacts. In internal communications revealed by a Standing Trees records request (see image below), VT ANR staff lamented that potential measures to reduce flooding would significantly curtail logging on state lands. Despite the risks identified in a report that it commissioned in the aftermath of flooding caused by Tropical Storm Irene, VT ANR continued with business-as-usual logging on state lands. The report was never publicly published, and many of its highest-priority recommendations were never implemented. Flooding in Vermont has only worsened in the years since due to climate change.

Screenshot of internal VT ANR staff communications regarding an unpublicized 2015 report commissioned by ANR, "Enhancing Flood Resiliency of Vermont State Lands." Obtained by Standing Trees via records requests.

The release of VT ANR's proposed land management planning rule is the latest development in a years-long saga. Standing Trees initially sued VT ANR in 2022 over its failure to promulgate rules for state land management following the publication of the 2021 Camel's Hump Management Unit Long Range Management Plan. VT ANR promised to begin rulemaking, and issued a "scoping draft" of its proposed lands management planning rule in 2024. The formal rulemaking process commenced in the spring of 2026, and is expected to be completed later this year.

In a parallel effort, Standing Trees and the Vermont Law and Graduate School's Environmental Advocacy Clinic filed litigation in August 2025 alleging that the VT ANR is unlawfully managing state forests, parks and wildlife management areas by ignoring its duty to protect public trust water resources and fully involve the public in decision making. In April, a Vermont state court granted Standing Trees an important early victory in the lawsuit, denying the state’s motion to dismiss the case.

“Vermont ANR has a chance to do something no other New England state has done: to put the public at the heart of public land management," said Zack Porter, executive director of Standing Trees. "So far, ANR is showing us that it would rather maintain the status quo, keeping the public in the dark about important decisions, and prioritizing timber harvest over all other values. In the face of increasing flooding risks, deteriorating water quality in our lakes and ponds, and threats to Vermont's biodiversity, the status quo isn't acceptable in 2026. We demand better for our public lands and for our communities."

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Standing Trees is a grassroots membership organization that works to protect and restore New England’s forests for the benefit of the climate, clean water and biodiversity, with a focus on state and federal public lands in Vermont and New Hampshire. Standing Trees members regularly visit and recreate throughout the Worcester Range and other state lands. For more information, visit standingtrees.org or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.