Vt. officials hope to move part of Appalachian Trail

KILLINGTON, Vt. – Forest officials say it would cost $200,000 to move part of the Appalachian Trail off a road and into the woods.

The U.S. Forest Service, town officials and a hikers group all support the idea of moving about a half-mile of the trail onto protected land and closer to a 140-foot waterfall.

But it’s unclear how supporters will pay for the project if it gets final approval.

The Forest Service chose the $200,000 plan out of four options recently put forth for public review. The new trail would require a new footpath, a bridge, and a 470-foot boardwalk through the floodplain of Kent Brook and the Ottauquechee River.

It would include a short spur to the falls.

The plan also has the support of the Green Mountain Club and the Appalachian Trail Conference, a nonprofit group based in New Hampshire that is devoted to protecting the 2,168-mile hiking trail between Georgia and Maine.

The expense of the project represents two-thirds of the Green Mountain National Forest Service’s annual trail budget for the entire state, and the agency will look for outside funding if it decides to go this route.

“They have said this is more than their budget can handle,” said J.T. Horn, president of the Appalachian Trail Conference.

The plan also won support from the Killington Select Board, which rejected an earlier and less expensive proposal.

“Although very expensive, it’s best for everybody,” said Select Board Chairman Norman Holcomb.

The effort to improve this section of Appalachian Trail goes back many years. In the late 1980s, the federal government acquired easements on a 56-acre parcel as part of an effort to protect the entire trail and remove it from the roads.

The Forest Service proposed its original relocation project in 1998. That would have created a new trail across a dry section of land, and would have had hikers walking a short section on road before returning to the woods.

Many residents and the Killington board objected, citing concerns about having hikers pass so close to homes.

The Forest Service did not pursue that option, although it now is one of the other three proposals up for public comment. It would cost $26,300.

Another option that would not bring hikers close to the waterfall would cost $32,850. The fourth option is to do nothing.

Horn said if the Forest Service approves the boardwalk project, he hopes to see the structure built in two or three years.