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Richmond advisory committee outlines staged review of forest management plan, defers dog-and-bike relitigation
Summary
The Andrew Community Forest Committee said it will integrate feedback from town committees and the select board before reopening contested recreation rules; members debated whether to revisit a north/south moratorium on dogs and bikes now or wait for formal consultation.
The Andrew Community Forest Committee on May 18 said the draft management plan is posted and under review by other town bodies and the public, and laid out a staged workflow for final edits and public comment. Committee leaders described a multi-step process: grammar edits and formatting by designated editors; integration of feedback from the Trails Committee (RTC), the Conservation Commission (RCC) and the Select Board; and a later public feedback meeting before a final draft goes back to the Select Board and Vermont Land Trust.
Committee members debated whether the committee should reopen previously decided recreation language that imposes a moratorium on bikes and dogs in the northern zone. One member urged a brief reconsideration now to avoid future objections, while others said the plan had already been voted and sent out for consultation and that reopening decisions before receiving committee and Select Board feedback could complicate the review and slow the process. The committee agreed to defer any substantive relitigation of that language until it has the formal feedback returned in July, and to reserve time in a later meeting for discussion if needed.
The group also designated roles for producing the final public-facing document. Sonia was named to make non-substantive grammatical edits in suggestion mode; a separate formatting pass (Google Docs preferred) will follow so the committee can review layout, add captions and restore a table of contents before final publication. Committee members said no substantive policy edits will be made without full committee review.
Why it matters: The north/south dog-and-bike language in the management plan has been contested in prior meetings and could affect recreational access and wildlife protections. The committee’s decision to wait for consolidated feedback from the Select Board and other advisory bodies preserves the existing approval track while keeping the issue on the agenda for later review.
What’s next: The committee expects feedback from RCC, RTC and the Select Board over the summer and plans a public comment period after those reviews. The management plan will be revised based on those responses and returned to the Select Board and Vermont Land Trust for final actions.
