Reprinted from Burlington Free Press 2/14 Editorial
Many city residents enjoy Leddy Park’s vibrant wooded areas and the network of trails threaded through this peaceful natural setting. The quiet tranquil character of this undeveloped open space in the north end of Burlington has been host to walking, running, bird watching, and other passive recreational pursuits for over 30 years. The increasingly scarce natural open space land within our city, and exemplified in the Leddy Park woodlands, should be preserved and protected.
Luckily our city has embraced the idea of open space preservation and eight years ago created a ninety three page document titled City of Burlington, VT Open Space Protection Plan which talks about the importance of open space conservation in making Burlington a more sustainable and livable city. Further, the plan describes exactly what should be protected and why. The Burlington City Council adopted the plan and its goals are widely supported by city residents. Leddy Park gets a specific mention in the plan’s open space land inventory. The park has a history as managed forest land and the plan notes the park as having a significant wooded area. The plan also lists the park’s attributes and characteristics that merit conservation and protection including its shoreline, view points, trails, and passive recreational value.
Recently, the wooded areas of Leddy Park have received the attention of the Burlington Conservation Legacy Program whose mission is to manage and coordinate the protection and enhancement of significant natural areas, and other important conservation lands with the city. The CLP’s interest at Leddy has focused on combating non-native invasive species threats in the park and has removed Japanese Knotweed in the park’s south end.
The city of Burlington should be commended for formally recognizing the value of open space preservation, for recognizing Leddy Park’s open space characteristics, and for its conservation efforts in the park.
With that said, I was surprised and deeply concerned upon learning of the Parks & Recreation Commission decision to site an 18 hole disc golf course throughout most of the remaining wooded areas in Leddy Park. This is a misguided decision that is out of step with the city’s Open Space Protection Plan and antagonistic to conservation efforts.
Disc golf will destroy the natural wild character of this open space by clearing large fairways throughout the remaining forest, and will degrade the tranquility and quality of the natural setting by subjecting it to the traffic and impacts of intensive use. Numerous stories from other communities, some recounted on LeddyPark.org, tell of the environmental impacts suffered on disc golf courses sited in inappropriate natural areas. Courses have been shutdown and relocated because of the damages caused.
The Chittenden County Forester indicated in a recent report that development of a disc golf course in Leddy Park is not consistent with long-term forest health. He also indicated that the removal of understory during fairway clearing significantly alters the existing vegetation and with heavy foot traffic these areas become susceptible to a variety of problems associated with soil disturbance, including compaction, root and plant death and the spread of non-native invasive species.
The Parks & Recreation Commission’s decision should be reversed. Disc golf may be a fun game and its enthusiasts are deserving of a place to play in the greater Burlington area but disc golf is simply not an appropriate activity for the woodlands of Leddy Park. These treasured natural areas of the park represent open space used for passive recreational activities by city residents and have so for decades.
Our city has embraced the practice of open space preservation, has recognized those characteristics meriting preservation in Leddy Park, and has an active conservation effort in the park. Building a disc golf course will displace current passive recreational uses and will adversely transform valuable city open space. It is an action that violates the spirit and intention of the Open Space Protection Plan.
Mark Barlow - Burlington