Dear Editor,
My concern is the Telephone Gap project plans, primarily in Rutland County, of the Green Mountain National Forest and the public comment period that ends on April 8. Old growth forest stands are extremely rare in this publicly owned forest and it is not being managed to promote them in any significant way. At this point in time we need old forest to sequester and store carbon to slow climate change. Early successional forest created by cutting, releases CO2, not only in the road building/improving, cutting, transporting, and manufacturing or burning of the wood, but also after the cut in the rotting of roots and soil organisms.
We need maximum sequestration and storage of carbon now, not in 20-plus years after cut stands regrow. Let the “old,” “mature,” “late successional” (confused yet?!) stands keep growing into old growth on public land rather than tax subsidized logging. The No Action alternative plan would do this best and be of the most public good. Log on private lands where 95% of the logging is done in Vermont and on the thousands of acres of already approved logging in GMNF. If you are concerned, please make an official comment at tinyurl.com/m8uyf5ye.
Alan Coulter,
Weybridge
