Green Mountain Club reports new acquisitions, flood damage and preparedness work for Long Trail

The Vermont Senate Committee on Institutions on Jan. 30 heard an update from Lana Flanagan, director of land conservation for the Green Mountain Club, on recent Long Trail protection work, recently completed acquisitions and the trail's condition after recent flooding.

The Green Mountain Club told the committee that the Long Trail system remains largely protected and that the organization is focusing on several priority acquisitions, upkeep after severe erosion from recent storms, and new approaches to rapid response and volunteer coordination.

Lana Flanagan, director of land conservation for the Green Mountain Club, told the committee: "I'm Lana Flanagan. I'm the director of land conservation with the Green Mountain Club." She said the Club manages the 272-mile Long Trail and a roughly 167-mile network of side trails and that "the trail system is 97% protected." Flanagan said the club and its partners have conserved about 25,000 acres and that more than 16,000 acres have been added to the State Forest system through the trail protection effort.

Flanagan reviewed two recent protection successes. The Club purchased a 12-acre parcel in Johnson known informally as the Deer Camp property in May 2024. That property, she said, protects about 300 feet of the Long Trail, provides additional road access for administration and management, and fills a gap in the Long Trail State Forest. Financing for that project included an $85,000 long-trail reserve fund that became available after an earlier transfer of adjacent state forest lands into Green Mountain National Forest ownership; Flanagan said the parcel will be brought into state ownership once due diligence with the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation is completed and that the transfer is expected to occur in the current calendar year.

Flanagan also reported that Middlebury College donated a 1.5-mile trail right-of-way in Hancock across the college's Snow Bowl ski area to provide legal protection for the Long Trail route there. She described trail right-of-way agreements as a flexible tool the Club will use in settings such as a downhill ski area where acquiring the surrounding land is not practical.

On funding and history, Flanagan said the General Assembly has provided more than $3.5 million in appropriations over the past 35 years to support Long Trail protection projects, and that the Club also received a grant from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board to support the Deer Camp acquisition.

Flanagan addressed storm damage and maintenance needs after the recent flood events of 2023 and 2024. "We didn't see any bridges totally washed out or shelters destroyed," she said, but she added that "significant portions of the trail, particularly side trails, experienced very severe erosion, especially in Addison and Chittenden counties between Mount Abe and Mount Mansfield." She said repairing the damage will take years and "tens of thousands of dollars," and that the Club has developed a rapid-response protocol that used seasonal staff to assess the most vulnerable assets immediately after the floods. The Club also relies on a mix of paid trail crews and a volunteer corps; Flanagan said every section of the Long Trail has a volunteer adopter who normally inspects the section twice a year and can provide on-the-ground reports.

Flanagan said the Club is renewing its focus on Long Trail protection after adopting a strategic conservation plan in 2023. She gave a summary of the Club's current prioritized protection work: about 4.5 miles of Long Trail across roughly 13 private parcels and about 12.5 miles of side trails spread over some 45 private parcels are on the Club's list for priority acquisition or protection, and these properties are located statewide.

Committee members asked questions about the Deer Camp purchase, alternatives such as route relocation, the availability of municipal cooperation for trailhead and road repairs, and how the Club coordinates with the Appalachian Trail and federal agencies. Flanagan said the Club works closely with the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy on the Appalachian Trail corridor and that in Vermont the Club maintains the state's portion of the Appalachian Trail under that partnership.

Flanagan said the Club will continue relationship-based work with private landowners and municipalities and expects to return to the committee with an actionable acquisition project when one is ready.