Ignoring public concerns and breaking promises made two decades ago, ~700 acres are now approved for logging surrounding one of the largest, least-developed, and cleanest lakes in the White Mountain National Forest
For Immediate Release
Thursday, Nov 16, 2023
Contact:
Zack Porter, Standing Trees, (802) 552-0160, zporter@standingtrees.org
Christophe Courchesne, (802) 831-1627, ccourchesne@vermontlaw.edu
Earlier this week, the White Mountain National Forest approved a ~700-acre logging project surrounding one of the largest and least-developed lakes in the entire National Forest. Standing Trees, the Lake Tarleton Coalition, and Vermont Law and Graduate School have repeatedly warned the US Forest Service that its proposal violates the law, endangers Lake Tarleton and its surrounding ecosystem, and will cause significant impacts to local communities and businesses.
Here is the statement that we issued along with our partners at Vermont Law and Graduate School:
"We are deeply disappointed that the Forest Service has ignored the public and decided to proceed with the Tarleton Integrated Resource Project as proposed," said Zack Porter, Executive Director of Standing Trees. "This decision is a betrayal of the agency’s promise to this community that Lake Tarleton and its stunning surroundings would be preserved forever."
"The decision utterly fails to correct the major flaws in the Forest Service’s environmental review process, which Standing Trees and the Lake Tarleton Coalition have repeatedly raised," said Christophe Courchesne, Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Vermont Law and Graduate School Environmental Advocacy Clinic. "We will be diligently evaluating all available legal options to challenge this project."
About Vermont Law and Graduate School: Vermont Law and Graduate School, a private, independent institution, is home to a Law School that offers both residential and online hybrid JD programs and a Graduate School that offers master’s degrees and certificates in multiple disciplines, including programs offered by the School for the Environment, the Center for Justice Reform, and other graduate-level programs emphasizing the intersection of environmental justice, social justice and public policy. Both the Law and Graduate Schools strongly feature experiential clinical and field work learning. For more information, visit vermontlaw.edu, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Standing Trees is a grassroots membership organization that works to protect and restore New England’s forests, with a focus on state and federal public lands in Vermont and New Hampshire. Standing Trees members regularly visit and recreate throughout White Mountain National Forest, including the area impacted by the Tarleton IRP.
The Lake Tarleton Coalition is comprised of local business owners, scientists, frequent users of the White Mountain National Forest, and concerned citizens united for permanent protection of Lake Tarleton and surrounding lands in the White Mountain National Forest. Many of the Coalition’s members have been involved in efforts to protect Lake Tarleton for decades.
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