Two Vermont men have agreed to pay $35,000 after state officials accused them of cutting down more than 300 trees and building an unauthorized mountain bike trail network inside Mt. Mansfield State Forest.
MyNBC5-WPTZ reporter Alexis Crandall reported that Cyril Brunner and Aaron Rice constructed approximately 8,000 feet of trails, or roughly a mile and a half, in the state forest near Stowe between 2016 and 2021.
The work included cutting about 327 trees, drilling into rocks, installing bridge anchors, and altering sections of publicly owned forest without permission, according to the Vermont Attorney General’s Office.
The trails remained largely unnoticed for five years before someone reported them in 2021. A state investigation followed, eventually leading to a settlement requiring the men to pay timber trespass damages and remove the remaining features connected to the trail system.
Trails Were Built Over Five Years
Crandall reported from the wooded area where officials said the unauthorized construction took place, explaining that the network stretched for more than a mile through Vermont’s largest state forest.
Attorney General Charity Clark said state forests cannot be treated as private property by individuals who want to build their own recreation features.
“No one should be treating state land and state forests like their own backyard,” Clark said in the report.
According to the settlement, Brunner and Rice cut trees to ground level and permanently changed parts of the landscape. Holes were drilled into rocks so rebar and other anchor points could support wooden trail crossings and bridges.
This was not simply a case of riders repeatedly using an informal path until it became worn into the ground. The amount of construction described by officials suggests a planned trail system that required tools, materials, and years of work.
That scale is part of what makes the case unusual. A single unauthorized shortcut may cause limited damage, but cutting hundreds of trees and drilling into rock changes the forest in ways that can take far more effort to repair.
State Officials Did Not Discover the Work Immediately
The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources investigated the trail network after it was reported, then referred the case to the Attorney General’s Office.
Clark explained that her office received the results of the investigation and took steps to hold those responsible accountable for what the state considered timber trespass.
“The investigation was probably done by the Agency of Natural Resources, and they referred the case to us,” she told MyNBC5-WPTZ. “We get this information about what had happened and then take the steps we need to hold the bad actors accountable for the timber trespass.”
Claire Polfus, a recreation program manager with the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, said the large size of the forest helped explain how the trail builders avoided detection for so long.
“We manage thousands of acres of forest, and they clearly were able to go into the forest without us noticing,” Polfus said.
She noted that members of the public are allowed to enter state forests, meaning there would not necessarily be anything suspicious about seeing people moving through the area. Officials simply did not have staff in that particular section during the years when the work was being carried out.
The men also installed signs reading “No Strava,” according to the Attorney General’s Office. The Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation said those signs made the trail more difficult to identify after its existence became known.
Strava is commonly used by cyclists and runners to record and share routes, so discouraging riders from uploading the trail may have helped keep its location less visible. That detail suggests the builders understood that wider attention could expose what had been created.
Settlement Includes Damages and Removal Work
Under the agreement, Brunner and Rice must pay $35,000 in timber trespass damages and remove any remaining structures or constructed features associated with the trails.
The settlement was approved by Lamoille Superior Court on June 29, and the Attorney General’s Office announced it in early July.
Most of the restoration work has already been completed, Crandall reported. A local mountain biking organization that had no involvement in creating the illegal trails volunteered to help repair much of the damaged area.
Polfus identified the group as the Stowe Trails Partnership and said its members stepped forward to restore the majority of the trail network.
“The local mountain bike chapter, which was not involved in the building of the trail, stepped up to help us restore the majority of the trail,” she said.
However, some of the final work required skills beyond what the volunteer group could safely provide. In particular, rebar placed into drilled rock remained an issue that needed specialized removal.
“The last remaining issues, they didn’t have the skills to fix, which was the rebar in the rocks,” Polfus explained. “So that’s part of the settlement. Once that is completed, the restoration will be complete.”
It is notable that lawful members of the biking community helped repair damage caused by riders who went outside the approved process. Their involvement separates the broader sport from the actions of two individuals and shows that access and conservation do not have to be competing goals.
Public Trails Require Planning and Approval
Danielle Fitzko, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, said recreation projects on state land are developed through established planning and public participation.
Those procedures are meant to balance public access with wildlife habitat, sustainable forest management, and the forest’s ability to handle flooding and other environmental pressures.
An unofficial trail may look harmless to the person building it, but state planners must consider more than whether a route is enjoyable to ride. Drainage, erosion, sensitive habitat, tree removal, and emergency access can all become important when a trail is placed through public land.
Nick Bennette, executive director of the Vermont Mountain Bike Association, acknowledged that people have historically created informal trails on public property, but said riders are expected to remain on officially designated and properly constructed routes.
“I think this stands out in terms of this illegal and inappropriate use of public land without public input,” Bennette said.
His comments point to a central issue in the case: the forest belongs to the public, so major changes cannot be decided privately by a small number of users.
Even a well-built trail can create long-term consequences if it crosses the wrong land, drains water poorly, or cuts through areas that agencies are trying to protect. The lack of public review was therefore just as important as the physical construction itself.
Officials Urged Riders to Work Through Local Groups
The Agency of Natural Resources said people who want new trails should join a local recreation club rather than attempting to build routes independently.
Many of those organizations already have relationships with state agencies and can help riders prepare and submit formal proposals.
That process may take longer than quietly entering the forest with tools, but it gives officials a chance to examine where a trail would go, how it would be built, and whether it could be maintained without harming the surrounding land.
The Mt. Mansfield case ended with a substantial financial penalty, years of restoration work, and an order to remove the final pieces of unauthorized construction.
According to Crandall’s report, the forest is now close to being restored, but the settlement serves as a warning that public access does not give visitors the right to redesign state land for their own use.
For mountain bikers interested in expanding Vermont’s trail network, officials said the lawful route is clear: work with local clubs, involve the state, and allow the planning process to protect both recreation and the forest itself.
Raised in a small Arizona town, Kevin grew up surrounded by rugged desert landscapes and a family of hunters. His background in competitive shooting and firearms training has made him an authority on self-defense and gun safety. A certified firearms instructor, Kevin teaches others how to properly handle and maintain their weapons, whether for hunting, home defense, or survival situations. His writing focuses on responsible gun ownership, marksmanship, and the role of firearms in personal preparedness.
