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Explore our latest coverage of environmental issues, climate change and more.

When Vermont Almost Got A National Park

Alden Pellett
/
AP
Vermonters voted on a state-wide referendum in 1936 that would have created a national park.

There's this myth you hear in Vermont that there was once a plan to build a super highway along the ridge of the Green Mountains. That's what happens when a half-truth gets repeated a number of times.

The reality is there was a proposal for a national park - the Green Mountain Parkway - that would have stretched almost the full length of the state, with a highway along the spine of the mountains, hiking trails and a bridle path. But 80 years ago as momentum built for the plan, Vermonters said no.

Vermont does have the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock. But this was a park on a different scale--think Yosemite or Yellowstone.

We speak with environmental historian Bruce Post about the rise and fall of Vermont's very own national park.

Also on the program, restorative justice is an idea designed to repair community relationships after a crime has been committed. The program in Vermont is now celebrating its 20th anniversary. We talk with Johannes Wheeldon, executive director of Community Justice Network of Vermont, about the development and changes the program has seen and whether or not it has been effective.

Broadcast live on Thurs., March 3, 2016 at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

Ric was a producer for Vermont Edition and host of the VPR Cafe.
Jane Lindholm is the host, executive producer and creator of But Why: A Podcast For Curious Kids. In addition to her work on our international kids show, she produces special projects for Vermont Public. Until March 2021, she was host and editor of the award-winning Vermont Public program Vermont Edition.
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