‘A New Gateway To A Natural Resource That’s The Legacy Of Every Vermonter’
Vermont Business Magazine The US Forest Service will begin construction this month of a new Forest Supervisor’s Headquarters building for the Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests (GMNF). The $6 million facility will be built on Route 4 in Mendon. Senator Patrick Leahy and the GMNF made the announcement on Thursday.
Leahy has worked for years to support and advance this project, using his key roles as Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and as the senior member and former chair of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, And Forestry. Leahy has made a high priority of securing a visitor-friendly, federally owned GMNF Headquarters, which can also serve as a gateway to what he has long seen as “a tremendous natural resource that is part of the legacy of every Vermonter.”
The new GMNF Headquarters will be an 11,550-square-foot federal building located on National Forest Service land, on Route 4 in Mendon. The state-of-the-art building will provide a greatly enhanced experience for visitors and a more efficient work environment for Forest Service staff. A local company, VMS Construction of Rutland, was awarded the contract for the site preparation work, which will begin this month and continue through this Fall season.
The project has been planned by the Forest Service for about 15 years and will now be built as the result of directive language and funding that Leahy secured in the Forest Service’s annual funding bill. Construction on the building itself will begin next Spring. The overall project cost will be about $6 million.
Leahy said: “This new state-of-the-art headquarters for the Green Mountain National Forest will support Vermont’s vital outdoor recreation, timber sectors, and serve to highlight our state’s proud legacy of conservation. It will be a gateway to our National Forest, and will improve its hardworking staff’s efficiency and enhance the experience of Vermonters and tourists who visit and use this invaluable resource.”
The GMNF headquarters has been housed in leased office space in Rutland for many years. The new location, in the National Forest itself, will provide more scenic views and the opportunity for trails and outdoor exhibits and other interpretive experiences. There will be long-term cost savings from the use of this new energy-efficient and federally-owned facility.
Source: (THURSDAY, Sept. 10, 2020) -- The US Forest Service