Andrews Community Forest 9/28/26

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Andrews Community Forest Committee 
Monday September 28, 2026 - 6:00 to 8:00 PM 
Richmond Town Center  
Meeting Minutes 
Present: 
Committee Members:  Jim Cochran, Brad Elliott (co-chair), Sonya Mastersen, Sam Pratt 
(co-chair), Wright Preston, Dan Wolfson 
Members of the Public: Tommy Maron, VYCC Conservation Project Coordinator 
Introductions and Other Business 
Sam called the meeting to order at 6:10 and confirmed a quorum. He volunteered to 
serve as timekeeper, and Brad agreed to take minutes. Sam welcomed Tommy Maron, 
who came to discuss scoping out a hiking and biking trail to avoid the former VAST 
trail’s encroachments on wetlands and their buffers. 
Jim moved and Sonya seconded to accept the minutes from the August 28 meeting. 
Sam explained his recent request to the Selectboard to appoint him an at-large member 
of the Committee rather than the Richmond Conservation Commission’s direct 
representative. He explained the difficulties of serving as both as chair of RCC and 
co-chair of ACFC and at times feeling conflicting pressures in each role. The 
Selectboard approved his request and Sam will be looking for a replacement to serve as 
RCC representative. Jim complimented Sam on the openness, fairness and good faith 
he brought to all discussions.  
Brad’s new status as a non-resident came up, as he and his wife had sold their 
Richmond home on September 22 and are living in Burlington. He said he hoped to 
continue as an ACFC member, an option open under State law because ACFC is not a 
statutory (i.e., mandated by the Legislature) committee. Jim noted that after Ben 
Feinson moved from town he became a non-voting member of the Trails Committee. 
Sam and Brad said they’d seek advice from Josh to clarify Brad’s ongoing status. 
Sam announced that the two web pages designed to replace the current single one for 
ACFC were ready. One is geared toward viewers interested in visiting or learning more 
about the forest itself, and it will appear in the “Community” section of the Town website. 
The other will appear in the “Boards and Meetings” section and focus on Committee 
business, including the management plan update. These new pages will soon go live, 
and members were asked to review them and bring any comments to the October 
meeting. 
Alternatives for a Wetlands Bypass on the VAST Trail 
Sam outlined three options for moving pedestrian and bike traffic from a section of the 
VAST trail that runs through a wetland and its buffer:  
● Building a boardwalk 
● Moving the foot and bike path north, onto higher ground 
● Doing nothing 
The plan to create a new trail was favored. One issue with the boardwalk was the 
damage it would be likely to incur from the continuing tractor traffic expected on that 
part of the VAST trail. Sam also noted that because the ACF usage was officially 
defined as recreational, we must abide by the State’s wetland rules with none of the 
exemptions provided to agricultural and forestry usage, even though those take place 
within the ACF. 
Tommy Maron explained how VYCC would be available to scope out a wetlands bypass 
using a map of a possible route developed from explorations by Sam and others. He 
estimated the cost of a report and project proposal to be $800, showing a sample of a 
similar report and proposal1 delivered to another VYCC client at that cost.  
Sam will check with Josh to make sure the Committee follows the Town’s purchasing 
policies in hiring a contractor for this project. Tim noted opportunities for obtaining 
grants for the project through the State-administered Recreational Trails Program, 
especially  if it were designed as a collaboration between the Town and VYCC. 
Pre-applications for one such program are now being accepted until 11/20, with the 
decisions to be made in February or March. Jim offered to work with Tommy on the 
pre-application. Jim moved, Dan seconded and the Committee unanimously approved  
this motion: “Motion that we move forward with scoping a wetlands reroute and 
improved connectivity to VYCC by partnering with with VYCC to scope the route, with 
estimated costs of less than $1000 to come out of the ACF fund." 
Tommy said that while VYCC encourages public use of its trail system, it discourages 
people from parking in VYCC lots. The organization sees its trail connections to ACF as 
valuable in meeting the demand for access to its trails. 
Public Feedback on MP2  
(continued)

1
www.richmondvt.gov/fileadmin/files/Andrews_Community_Forest/Meetings/2026/08/ACF_MP2_Fe
edback_Synthesis.pdf  
The Committee worked through several items listed on the feedback synthesis 
document2, starting with those deemed easiest to address. The committee agreed with 
suggestions that we improve clarity on the seasonal closure and project timeline text. 
Sam will be coordinating with Sonya to get her edits incorporated into a revised 
document. He will also propose language responding to a suggestion that the plan say 
more about how the Town will deal with the effects of climate change on the forest. 
Meanwhile the Committee will concentrate at its next meeting on remaining items on the 
input list, most of which relate to the desire some in town have for using ACF to connect 
Sip of Sunshine and nearby Jericho trails to the Maplewind and VYCC trail systems 
already linked to ACF. 
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) 
Wright proposed investigating  a route to the Sip of Sunshine trails that would loop east 
of ACF onto VYCC land, where the terrain seems flatter. He and others may get 
together in sub-quorum groups to explore this possibility. Sam said he felt that this and 
other assessments of possible routes showed the MOU has served a useful purpose in 
launching explorations of routes to SOS that would comply with the plan’s ecological 
protections and not hold up approval of the plan. Discussions about such routes were 
ongoing, and a specific focus on the memorandum no longer seemed necessary. 
Closure 
Topics for the October 26 meeting will include an update on the wetlands bypass project 
scoping, and further work on revisions to MP2 reflecting the breadth of public feedback. 
Wright moved to adjourn and Jim seconded. The motion passed unanimously and the 
meeting adjourned at 8:27. 
Respectfully submitted, 
Brad Elliott 
2
www.richmondvt.gov/fileadmin/files/Andrews_Community_Forest/Meetings/2026/08/ACF_MP2_Fe
edback_Synthesis.pdf