(Host) First Lady Laura Bush came to Woodstock today to celebrate a grant for Vermont’s only national park.
The $50,000 grant for the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Park will provide trail enhancements.
VPR’s Betty Smith has more.
(Smith) The First Lady hiked a short section of trail with a group of young Vermonters who showed her the work they’ve been doing to improve trails and plant native ferns.
(Bush) "I got to see these young people who are committed to the parks by working to improve the network of pathways and trails and carriage roads here … Students who are engaged in service learning activities like these … are more likely to do well in school and to have strong social skills."
(Smith) Mrs. Bush said the new grant will support the park and the Woodstock foundation to connect its trails with Woodstock and the Appalachian trail and to the new Stewardship Trail.
The First Lady spoke from the new Forest Center at the park, which demonstrates the commitment to sustainability in the Mount Tom forest.
The Marsh Billings Rockefeller National Park is celebrating its 10th anniversary. And Mrs. Bush paid tribute to Frederick Billings …
(Bush) "Long before conservation became a popular term Frederick Billings and his family were putting it into practice on this land. Today the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National is the oldest sustainably managed forest in the U.S."
(Smith) While Mrs. Bush is planning to spend more time in Vermont as part of an Eastern hiking trip, she didn’t say when President Bush might make his first visit to Vermont.
The president has said he’ll come to the state before he leaves office. It’s the only state he hasn’t visited during his two terms.
For VPR News, I’m Betty Smith in Woodstock.
Photo: First lady Laura Bush, right, walks up a road with Rachel Allen during a visit to the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock, Vt., (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)