The U.S. Senate has passed compromise legislation that adds wilderness designations to land in the Green Mountain National Forest.
The unanimous voice vote this afternoon sends the bill to the House, where its fate is uncertain. The House is set to adjourn tonight, and it’s uncertain whether it will act on the bill.
The bill removes about 6,000 acres from wilderness protection in the Glastenbury area.
The measure represents a compromise between Vermont Governor Jim Douglas and the state’s congressional delegation. Douglas thought an earlier version of the bill closed off too much of the forest to logging.
The compromise passed by the Senate is the same as one offered by the delegation to Douglas three weeks ago, when he rejected it.