Lawsuit Alleges Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Has Violated the State Constitution and Discriminated Against Vermonters in its Management of State Lands
MONTPELIER, Vt. (August 29, 2025) 鈥� Assisted by 汤头条原创鈥檚 Environmental Advocacy Clinic and the Law Office of James A. Dumont, Esq., forest protection group Standing Trees Thursday in Washington County Superior Court alleging numerous constitutional and legal violations by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) in its management of state lands, including the .
鈥淭his lawsuit is about putting the public back in public lands,鈥� said Zack Porter, co-founder and executive director of Standing Trees. 鈥淰ermont ANR manages its lands and waters with nearly absolute power and control, denying the public a seat at the table while inviting private industry to dinner. We鈥檝e given ANR ample opportunity to improve its decision-making processes and facilitate public participation. If ANR won鈥檛 act, we will.鈥�
At issue are questions basic to a functioning democracy: Should the public be informed about and allowed the opportunity to comment on decision-making for public lands? What are the state of Vermont鈥檚 obligations to protect public trust resources such as its rivers, lakes, and ponds? How should the state weigh the ecological and economic costs and benefits of its proposed actions on state lands? And 鈥� importantly 鈥� can the state choose to share information with some Vermonters but not others regarding state land management?
The lawsuit comes on the heels of a filed by Standing Trees and Vermonters affected by the state鈥檚 new Long Range Management Plan for the Worcester Range, a largely wild and undeveloped subrange of the Green Mountains stretching from Montpelier to Morrisville, and from Stowe to Worcester. Home to one of Vermont鈥檚 healthiest brook trout populations as well as endangered species like the Northern Long-eared Bat, the 19,000-acre Worcester Range Management Unit includes CC Putnam State Forest and Elmore State Park, among other areas.
Filed on June 30, the alleged that the state had issued the new Worcester Range management plan improperly by failing to facilitate public participation and conduct robust environmental and economic analysis through 鈥渞ulemaking,鈥� a rigorous process detailed in Vermont鈥檚 Administrative Procedure Act. on July 29, and detailing violations of the Vermont Constitution and instances of discrimination against Vermonters whose interests didn鈥檛 align with current ANR priorities.
鈥淰ermont ANR can鈥檛 hide its decisions from public view and pick and choose who it wants to share information with,鈥� said James Dumont, a Bristol-based environmental attorney. 鈥淭he public is being treated as a second-class citizen in decisions about its own lands. This violates the Common Benefits and anti-discrimination clauses of the Vermont Constitution.鈥�
Rulemaking would also allow the public to submit expert information on the record that challenges ANR鈥檚 management priorities, which could lead to more robust consideration of impacts and alternatives to the State鈥檚 proposed actions. Two new expert reports detail how Vermont ANR has:
- for maintaining water quality and reducing flood danger, including failing to consider the benefits of reducing or eliminating public land timber harvests, logging roads and skid trails;
- provisioned by state lands, including, for example, mitigation of floods and droughts, production of clean water, habitat for fish and wildlife and places for outdoor recreation, which are often worth far more to Vermont’s economy and communities than the value of timber that might be removed.
鈥淎t a time when public lands across the country are in grave jeopardy, Vermont should be a leader in forward-thinking, inclusive decision-making about our own public lands, including the wild Worcester Range,鈥� said Christophe Courchesne, associate professor and director of the Environmental Advocacy Clinic. 鈥淭hese lands belong to all of us, and the Vermont Constitution and state law require the state to act that way.鈥�
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汤头条原创, a private, independent institution, is home to a law school that offers ABA-accredited residential and online hybrid JD programs and a graduate school that offers master鈥檚 degrees and certificates in multiple disciplines, including programs offered by the Maverick Lloyd School for the Environment, the Center for Justice Reform and other graduate-level programs emphasizing the intersection of environmental justice, social justice and public policy. Both the law and graduate schools strongly feature experiential clinical and field work learning. For more information, visit vermontlaw.edu, and .
Standing Trees is a grassroots membership organization that works to protect and restore New England鈥檚 forests for the benefit of the climate, clean water and biodiversity, with a focus on state and federal public lands in New Hampshire and Vermont. Standing Trees members regularly visit and recreate throughout the Worcester Range and other state lands. For more information, visit , or follow us on and .
James A. Dumont is an attorney based in Bristol, Vermont, with more than 40 years of experience in statewide environmental law matters. For more information, visit .