As Vermont's magnificent forests, fields, and farmlands fall to new development, the Green Mountain National Forest and other public lands provide increasingly valuable ways for Vermonters and visitors to enjoy the wild. Two recent events - the release of the Forest Service's final plan for the Green Mountain National Forest and the introduction of federal legislation proposing to designate more Wilderness - will define the Forest's future. Now, more than ever, is the time to ensure Vermont's wildest places remain that way.

The Forest Service released its plan on March 22, 2006, recommending the addition of only 27,473 acres of permanently protected Wilderness. This plan falls far short of the nearly 80,000 acres of Wilderness proposed by the Vermont Wilderness Association. It also fails as a management strategy balancing different values and benefits of the forest.

The recent introduction of the 2006 Wilderness bill by Vermont's Congressional delegation provides a critical complement to the Forest Service's plan to permanently protect some of the state's wildest, most ecologically important lands. The current bill does not reach far enough, however. Significant areas left out of the bill include the Lamb Brook basin, Lye Brook, and key portions of the Glastenbury area.