2nd Half:
At that meeting, land conservation program manager Gannon Osborn said the Agency of Natural Resources had been interested in the parcel, but by the time they became aware of its sale, the town was already involved in negotiations with the resort, according to meeting minutes.
He acknowledged that the state would benefit from owning the land, but that it was unlikely to be threatened by development.
In July, Stritzler sent a letter outlining his resort’s approach to the lift project titled “Avoid, Minimize, Mitigate” to Moore and Greenough. He outlined the construction plan meant to reduce the impact on the fragile ecological area where the lift would be built and once again touted the proposed mitigation package.
“We believe this mitigation offer adds significant value to the natural area compared to the value of the area without the proposed connector lift and is, therefore, a good deal for Vermonters,” Stritzler wrote.
Like Owczarski’s report, Stritzler’s final entreatment to the agency didn’t appear to change anyone’s mind.
Draft memorandum
In August, Greenough drafted a memo with input from other stewardship team members meant to articulate their insurmountable concerns and sent it on to Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation director Dani Fitzko and Moore.
Greenough outlined the ways in which the team saw the project as detrimentally threatening to the sensitive ecosystem between the two peaks. The connector would threaten the montane-spruce fir community of trees in the area, which he called one of the “three most vulnerable forest types in our region.”
He also noted the immediate and long-term disturbance implications of the construction project.
“The placement of towers by helicopters, the operation of large equipment for ground construction, and the use of chainsaws to thin the corridor, will all impact the movement and reproductive patterns of species using the area,” Greenough wrote. “Both the noise and visual disturbance will, at minimum, cause a temporary disturbance to local species, including Bicknell’s Thrush and black bear.”
He also claimed that long-term maintenance of the lift could create unforeseen disturbances in the area’s ecosystem, creating an irreparable fragmentation and alteration of the relatively closed-off area.
“The ease of access and the increased number of users the proposed lift would provide is highly likely to result in undue impacts to these areas and would likely lead to increased illegal cutting of ski glades within the understory and midstory in these communities resulting in alteration of the community structure,” Greenough wrote.
In their proposal, the resorts claimed construction would be scheduled to avoid thrush habitats and wetland areas. At the March meeting, Delaney emphasized that the Sterling Pond region was already seeing increased foot traffic from pedestrians hiking up from Smugglers’ Notch Resort and other trails and likened it to a “dog park” rather than a wilderness setting on many days.
Greenough recognized the mitigation land swap but noted that it was not in danger of development and would “not replace the functions of the core undeveloped area between Spruce Peak and Sterling Peak.”
In conclusion, Greenough vigorously opposed the connector lift, quoting back a previous letter of denial apparently sent by Moore to the two resorts when the matter was discussed in 2021: “Given the long history of this site as a State Natural Area and the additional designations bestowed on the area, (Agency of Natural Resources) land stewards do not believe this proposal is consistent with past intent and the Agency’s current management objectives.”
While the resorts may have decided to let the issue lie for now, it’s clear Stritzler disagreed with the state’s assessment.
“There are a lot of things about the memo that would be easy for us, frankly, to attack,” Stritzler said. “A fair amount of it is a repeat of prior concerns raised by the Barre District Stewardship Team. You’ll see that it is heavily ladened with the team’s opinion of issues. Whereas our whole approach to the project has been very scientific in nature.”
https://www.vtcng.com/news_and_citizen/news/local_news/resorts-withdraw-connector-lift-proposal/article_ba971854-622b-11ee-a120-63d2590e2df6.html
