By Robin Morris
On Saturday, October 29, the Waitsfield Conservation Commission led a group of local residents on a tour of the 110-acre property proposed for town ownership. This initiative, called the Scrag Forest Gateway Project, would secure a parcel of forestland at the end of Bowen Road and provide for improved access and a new “gateway” to a significant piece of public land in the Valley – Waitsfield’s Scrag Town Forest.
Scrag Town Forest was established in 1991 and today encompasses 640 acres and a mile length of the Northfield ridgeline. When my wife, Jenny, and I first lived in The Valley in 1994, we used to walk some of this land when we had access through Virginia Houston’s property. The views are amazing looking east and southeast to New Hampshire. This access was subsequently posted by the owner and we stopped walking to the ridgeline.
In 2007, I was a member of the Waitsfield Planning Commission when Mark and Polly Kisiel applied for a three-lot subdivision of 160 acres on Bowen Road. Lot 1 was proposed as 101 acres, with lot 2 and 3 being just under 30 acres each. This application came to the planning commission after an Act 250 denial and a subsequent Supreme Court appeal. My recollection is that the commissioners had major concerns about the subdivision, especially regarding around key scenic, ecological and recreational issues on the portion of the property the town now has the opportunity to acquire. In 2008, the planning commission approved the subdivision with many conditions designed to protect the scenic and ecological risks including allowing the town of Waitsfield very limited access to a walking and logging trail to our town forest and a small parking area for six cars at the head of the trail. During the hearing, the applicant also discussed possible future subdivision of the outer part of the property for potential conveyance to the town.
In 2015, I was appointed a trustee of the Vermont Land Trust (VLT). The VLT is a statewide nonprofit organization that permanently protects working farms, forestland and open space important to communities. Here in the Mad River Valley, the VLT has helped with the creation of town forests in Moretown, Waitsfield and Fayston and is currently supporting the town’s potential acquisition of the Gateway parcel. The VLT board meets four times a year and this September we met with community members in Marshfield to tour part of the Marshfield Stranahan Town Forest, a 620-acre parcel acquired by Marshfield with the VLT’s assistance in 2007. It was notable how many townspeople were recreating in the forest on a regular basis; many of them met with us and shared their plans. One observation was that they had an undersized car park for six to eight cars at their trailhead and they were working to increase it in size. Our Scrag Town Forest will be permanently limited to a six-car parking area and, thus, face similar limitations and public access challenges as Marshfield, if we do not acquire the Gateway parcel.
Recreation has great economic value. A new study by the Mad River Valley Planning District indicates that the Blueberry Lake trails contribute $1.9 million to the economy annually. Waitsfield is the commercial center of The Valley and will benefit from a more accessible town forest.
This Gateway parcel that the town is considering buying is a beautiful piece of land with wonderful streams and waterfalls and vistas across to Sugarbush’s Lincoln Peak and, most importantly, would greatly improve the access to our town forest.
During our tour, Phil Huffman, chair of the Waitsfield Conservation Commission, explained that the Scrag Forest Gateway Project is an opportunity for the town to purchase 110 acres, bringing our town forest to 750 acres in total. The purchase price for the 110 acres is $450,000, a discount of 30 percent over the appraised value, and there will be additional costs of $45,000 to enable the acquisition and conservation of the land, for a total project budget of $495,000. The sellers of the land will also provide $25,000 toward a new parking area at the trailhead.
Other participants in the tour asked many questions around costs and concerns that the tax rate is not impacted. Phil shared that, with the Vermont Land Trust’s assistance, two grants had been received for a total of $381,650. The town’s Restroom, Recreation and Conservation Fund, which has a current balance of $83,000, would provide $40,000, and the balance of just under $75,000 will be privately raised from tax-deductible donations.
Questions were asked about the cost of administrating the town forest. Phil shared that the conservation commission has a budget of $2,000 a year from the town. What surprised me was the two sources of income that Phil shared: Logging last winter raised $43,000 and tapping an area of maple trees will result in an advance lump sum payment this winter of an estimated $30,000-plus for the first five years. These monies could be directed to improving the trail access to the vistas, which in turn would increase the recreation value.
In summary, for this addition of 110 acres to our town forest, all that remains is raising $75,000 in private donations from the community and appropriating $40,000 from the town’s Restroom, Recreation and Conservation Fund. I have every confidence that the $75,000 will be raised from our community. My wife and I will be contributing, as I know many others will be. My hope is the Waitsfield Select Board will appropriate the $40,000 to this project at their November 28 meeting at 6:30 p.m.
In my opinion, purchasing this land is a win-win for our community. A 160-acre parcel of forest that contributed little in real estate taxes has been transformed into a 50-acre parcel with a new home and substantial property taxes going to the town plus a 110-acre gateway to our forest that supports in a healthy way people, animals and plants.
Robin Morris lives in Waitsfield and runs the Mad River Food Hub.
