Over the objections of lawmakers, the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources has adopted a rule to allow all-terrain vehicles on state land.
The rule was quietly put in place this week. That’s less than a month after it drew a formal objection from the Legislature’s Committee on Administrative Rules. The rule allows the agency to approve up to three trails across state land to link trail networks already existing on private land.
The committee’s vote is nonbinding but makes the agency’s rule easier to challenge in court.
Meanwhile, key legislators say they may draft a bill or bills to reverse the agency’s decision.