CALAIS – Doug Lilley has been farming on Lightening Ridge Road in Calais for most of his 82 years. The Lilley Hill Farm where he grew up and still raises beef cattle was one of 50 dairy farms in Calais then. It was the last dairy farm when he stopped milking cows three years ago, he said.
courtesy photo
Lilley cares about his farm, continuing to grow forage for his small herd of beef cattle and working to protect its scenic attractions, which include a line of ancient maples beside the road, some of which have been there for more than 250 years, he says.
The town has been working to widen roads, which is causing the roots of those maple trees to become exposed and killing them.
In a dispute that’s been going on for several years, this year he placed round hay bales beside the trees to encourage the town’s trucks and other vehicles to avoid them.
That, once again put him at odds with town officials, who pointed to the town’s Right-of-Way Ordinance that grandfathers old trees, allows them to be replaced, but requires permits for other things to be in the right-of-way, including hay bales. A January 13 letter to Lilley from the Calais Select Board noted civil penalties of not less than $100, and up to $10,000, could be assessed under the ordinance beginning after January 25, with each day being a separate offense.
Calais Town Administrator and Road Commissioner Kari Bradley stopped by to explain to Lilley how the ordinance works, but Lilley wasn’t listening, he says.
Bradley then sent the Washington County Sheriff to explain the ordinance to Lilley, but the hay bales remained in place.
Lilley enlisted WCAX to tell his story, which appeared on the broadcast channel last Thursday and can be seen now at wcax.com/2026/01/22/calais-farmer-feuds-with-town-over-old-maple-trees-right-of-way/
Lilley has now removed those hay bales because a neighboring farmer needed the hay, he says.
He’s replaced the bales with stakes beside the road to protect his trees, saying it’s the same thing long ago road crews once did.
Removing the bales has satisfied Bradlay, who says Lilley is welcome to ask that the town install stakes to protect the trees, which is something the road crew may do when asked.
Bradley says he doesn’t think the issue is fully resolved and Lilley says the same.
In Lilley’s quest for justice he wrote to Vermont Lieutenant Governor Rodgers, saying, “Thank you so much for listening to my concerns about the town’s plow killing my old maple trees. Years ago, for decades, the road commissioner sharpened big sticks he collected from the woods, and in the fall, pushed them into the ground marking the edge of people’s lawns and property in Calais. It was so simple, so thoughtful. My trees and lawn were never harmed.
“The past two commissioners’ goal has been to widen all roads so cars can travel fast. And they do.
“They are plowing deliberately up against my trees, killing them, so the road can be wider. They’ve killed so many it’s disheartening. Recently I placed a round bale in front of six remaining old maples, not in the path of travel, to save them from harm. “The select board had a sheriff deliver information to me, twice, detailing the fine I am about to receive, between $100 and $10,000 per bale.
“Please let me know if you have any ideas or can help in any way.”
After removing the bales Lilley said, “They are harassing me and I’m looking for a fight.”
He’s looking to hire an attorney and raising funds through a gofundme account, “Save Doug’s 250-Year-Old Maples from Town Plows,” created by Andrea Lilley. Five donations had raised $110 of the $4,000 goal Tuesday afternoon.
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
