JAMAICA-My name is Lilian Newton, and I'm 13 years old, and I'm writing this letter in response to Vermont Forest Parks and Recreation's proposed development plans for Hamilton Falls Natural Area in Jamaica.
For my entire life, I've lived a very short walk from Hamilton Falls, in the same house my great-grandparents lived in when they sold the falls property in 1972.
As I've grown up, I've gone to the falls on most any hot day I can. Despite having been there many hundreds of times, the beauty and power of the falls never ceases to amaze me. It's one of my favorite places in the world, and when I first saw these plans, I cried.
During the pandemic, there was a problem with crowding at the falls, which has since been resolved. The data in the plans are grossly inaccurate to the current numbers, but the addition of parking lots would increase the amount of people and encourage a party atmosphere, making the falls far more unsafe.