MONTPELIER – Sen. Scott Beck (R-Caledonia) is one of 13 sponsors of S.79, a bill that would create a committee to review whether real property owners who allow use of their property for public recreational trails should receive compensation of some kind.
In February, the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy, on which Beck serves as clerk. The committee heard testimony in mid-March, but the bill didn’t make it out of committee in time to be considered by the House this session.
Beck recently said, “I think there will be a request for a report to look at what can be done.”
In testimony about the bill, S.79, March 17, Executive Director of the Vermont Mountain Bike Association and Chair of the Vermont Trails & Greenways Council (VTGC) Nick Bennette, laid out his thoughts on the value of undertaking a study to look into ways of recognizing landowners for use of their property to support Vermont trails.
He said outdoor recreation drives healthy and resilient communities, fosters ecological awareness and conservation and fuels sustainable economic development.
Bennett said VTGC represents over 50,000 members who log over 100,000 volunteer hours each year in managing over 7,750 miles of trails. Those trails, he said, support over 50,000 jobs. Private landowners host over 70% of those trail miles.
Those private landowners are “vital to Vermont’s outdoor recreation economy,” noted Bennette’s presentation to the committee.
Objectives of the bill, he said, are to evaluate how private lands are currently used for public access trails and estimate their economic value, then recommend if and how private landowners hosting those trails can be recognized to ensure high quality trail construction and maintenance. Bennette hopes the study leads to creating a merit-based model for landowner recognition and compensation.
Beck said the figure he’s heard suggested as compensation is a $250 annual state tax credit for participating landowners.
Other area sponsors of the bill are Sen. Sam Douglass (R-Orleans) and Sen. Ann Cummings (D-Washington).
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story misidentified Sam Douglas as a Democrat.
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
