by Andrew Martin

The State of Vermont has decided to open a portion of Elmore State Park for public use in sugar making. Thursday, July 15, the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation issued a press release stating that the Elmore State Park would become another example of state owned land that has recently been opened for syrup production.

“I am pleased that we are able to offer this modest expansion of the Department’s new maple sugaring program this year,” said Sarah Clark, Commissioner of the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. “Maple sugaring is a sustainable use of our forests and is an important and highly visible component of Vermont’s working landscape and cultural heritage.”

The area of the park chosen for maple syrup production is a 72 acre site on the southwest side of the park that lies off the Elmore Mountain Road. While that section of the park does not have road frontage, the state does have a right of way to the area across private land. The 72 acre stand of trees consists of 71% sugar maple and 7% red maple. The site within Elmore State Park is one of several that have been designated by the state for possible public use. The decision to open those sites was based partly upon the Vermont Legislature recently directing the state parks to open more land for public use. If an applicant is granted permission to sugar on the Elmore site it will become the fourth sugaring operation site on state land and forest. In 2009, the state entered into agreements with sugarmakers for sites in Groton, Mt. Mansfield, and Okemo. 

The license fees involved for those applying to sugar on the Elmore site include a $50 one-time administrative fee plus an annual fee that will be based upon the number of taps in use on the site each year. The license fee covers a five year period and can be renewed for two more five year periods for a total of 15 years of sugaring. The per-tap fee involved uses a formula created by the state in which the bulk prices of various qualities of syrup are averaged. 25% of that averaged price is taken to arrive at the per-tap fee. For the 2011 calendar year the per-tap fee is 63 cents a tap, which is slightly less than the 2010 per-tap fee of 67 cents a tap.

According to State Lands Director Mike Fraysier, the Elmore site was opened for possible syrup production due to a number of factors. “There’s a good stand of sugar maples in that area and the site is adjacent to a privately owned sugarbush,” stated Fraysier, “and a sugaring operation on the proposed site would not conflict with any trails or major wildlife habitat.”

Applications from sugarmakers interested in the site are due by August 20.

Applications for the site will be reviewed following the deadline and one will be approved by September. A license agreement will then be developed between the state and the approved individual. The agreement will outline specific conditions and requirements for the site and also set up tapping guidelines. The approved applicant must also come to an agreement with any adjacent landowners if the applicant is using private land to access the site.

The state encourages potential sugarmakers to conduct an inspection of the Elmore site before they submit their application to the Department. Anyone conducting an inspection of the site should make arrangements with any private landowners whose property they will be crossing to reach the sugarbush. Application information, tapping guidelines, license requirements, and more information on the Elmore Site, including a map of the region, can be found online at http://www.vtfpr.org/lands/maplesugaring/MapleSugaring.cfm.