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Sunday, February 12, 2012

The Section 7 Process: Roles of The Wild & Scenic Study Committee and the National Park Service in VT Agency of Transportation Projects

Jamie Fosburgh, National Park Service (NPS), outlined the Section 7 process as it relates to a designated Wild and Scenic River.  He passed out a list of bridge projects the park service has dealt with on designated Wild and Scenic rivers.  Based on the input from the Study Committee, he anticipates that the covered bridges within the study area would be identified as an outstandingly remarkable value (ORV) and gave examples of the types of issues that have come up on other designated rivers.  He noted that the authority to review under Section 7 exists during the study period, not just once or if the river is designated. 

Focus on bridge projects – the range of Committee/NPS involvement and discussion bridge projects in designated rivers

Discussion of the Montgomery Covered Bridges as an example, with special guest Richard Tetreault from VTrans

Richard Tetreault is the Director of Program Development at VTrans.  He explained that when appropriate, VTrans aims to rehabilitate or restore covered bridges instead of replacing them with a metal structure.  He noted that there is a historic preservation officer at the agency and he pointed out examples of covered bridges that have been rehabilitated by VTrans.  Rich explained that there is a landscape architect on staff to deal with the issues of replanting trees/vegetation after a bridge or roadway project.  VTrans has also developed alternative state design standards so the state has more flexibility to design projects so you do not have to default to the federal standards that may not be appropriate for the rural context.  VTrans reached out to Oregon and New Hampshire DOTs to get their experience with Wild and Scenic process.  VTrans reviewed the regulations and did not see anything of concern.  He noted that there were “no show stoppers” for VTrans.  Rich suggested the committee contact John Narowski from the Environmental Section of VTrans.