Committee reviews bill to study compensation for private landowners who host public trails

A draft bill, S.79, to establish a Recreational Access Compensation Study Committee was presented and discussed during the Natural Resources & Energy committee meeting. The bill would create a panel to review whether landowners who allow public recreational trail access should receive compensation and to report findings to the General Assembly. The draft calls for the commissioner to convene the first meeting and for a report by Sept. 15, 2025; the Department requested a $250,000 appropriation for contracted economic analysis.

Supporters and stewardship organizations said private landowners are central to Vermont's trail system and that more data is needed to assess whether and how to recognize or compensate owners. "Private landowners in Vermont host over 70% of our public access trails," said Hany Fannett, executive director of the Vermont Mountain Lake Association and chair of the Vermont Trails and Greenways Council, describing the scale of reliance on private property…