This project acknowledges the need and benefit for the establishment of a temporary bridge program for timber harvesting contractors in the state of vermont

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service awarded $500,000 to the Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation Vermont under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Temporary Bridge Program (CFDA 10.721) on July 16, 2025. The grant funds the establishment of a temporary bridge rental program designed to make portable skidder bridges and bridge mats available to timber harvesting contractors throughout Vermont. These temporary water crossing structures will enable loggers to minimize stream bed disturbance during forest management operations while supporting rural economic development in the timber industry.

The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation will collaborate with the Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast and the Vermont Forest Products Association to develop and promote awareness of the temporary bridge and mat rental program. The initiative will support both environmental protection—by reducing water quality impacts from stream disturbance—and industry access to critical infrastructure, with grant funding supporting program administration through October 1, 2029. The rental program may operate under fee-based, no-cost, or rent-to-own arrangements to maximize contractor participation.

Access to funding to develop an initiative that will make temporary mats available to loggers will support the forest industry and protect water quality by minimizing stream disturbance. The cooperator will work with the professional logging contractors of the northeast and the vermont forest products association to raise awareness about the temporary and portable bridges and mats program that will make these assets available for logging contractors to use throughout the state.