The Bedford Minuteman
Thursday, September 13, 2001

VMP is wolf in sheep’s clothing

To the editor:

This evening at the Sheraton Lexington (Colonial Room) at 7:30 p.m.,
Massport officials will present their plans for removing thousands of trees
from the areas surrounding the four runway ends at Hanscom Field.

" Vegetation management plan " (VMP) is the euphemistic Massport term.
Clear-cutting is what these aggressive plans amount to. If they secure
permission to cut down these trees, Massport intends further to poison the
stumps so the trees cannot grow back.

The draft VMP does not discuss Massport’s plans for " managing " 43 acres of
trees in the Bedford Town Forest. Massport says it wants to deal with
Bedford " separately. " This is wrong and should not be allowed. Hanscom is
a unified entity, and what happens at each runway end affects the airport
and all the airport neighbors alike, regardless of town. Massport should not
be allowed to submit a final VMP that leaves out the single biggest stand of
trees that it wants to " manage, " and we must not allow Massport’s attempt
to split off the Bedford Town Forest from everything else it wants to "
manage " to lull us into inactivity.

Why does Massport want so badly to level acres of trees?

Massport has said in the past and will say again tonight that they want to
chop down these trees for aviation safety. They might even say the FAA is
forcing them to clear-cut our forest in the name of public safety. Both
these claims are patently false.

Massport is already operating the airfield safely. Clear-cutting the forest
is being proposed purely to expand the types of aircraft that can take off
and land on that runway. Massport wants the runway to be used by jets in bad
weather and at night. They want to lower the minimum altitude for aircraft
landing on the runway. To do this, they need to cut down a wide swath of our
forest. It is not a safety issue; it is an expansion issue.

The FAA does not require this expansion of Hanscom’s airspace. Massport has
three ways to avoid destruction of the Bedford Town Forest. They can use
declared distances (assign different portions of the runway for take-offs
and landings.) They can shorten the runway. Or they can merely ask the FAA
for a local waiver. Indeed, it may be that the FAA regulations Massport is
trying to use don’t apply at all.

Yes, Massport has the responsibility for operating a safe airfield. No,
Bedford must not be forced to sacrifice its conservation land to further
Massport’s expansion plans for Hanscom. The burden of " public safety " for
Federal Express Pilots and the like does not fall on Bedford’s shoulders.

Come to this meeting. Call your selectmen. Get informed about this issue.
The destruction of the Bedford Town Forest will affect the entire region.

Lori Eggert

Bonnievale Drive, Bedford

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