Mon May 24, 2004 10:59 AM ET

By Sue Pleming

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vermont was designated an "endangered place" on Monday by preservationists who say Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, threatens the picturesque state with huge new stores that smash rural life.

In its annual list of most endangered historic places, the National Trust for Historic Preservation included the state of Vermont because of an "onslaught of big-box" stores by Wal-Mart, the Arkansas-based retailer.

Trust President Richard Moe said Wal-Mart planned to "saturate" Vermont -- known for its quaint villages, winding back roads and strong sense of community -- with seven new "Super Stores."

These stores, said Moe, would spur more development, sprawl and lead to disinvestment in historic downtown areas and a loss of locally owned business.

"We are sounding the alarm bell that Vermonters need to pay attention to this," Moe said in an interview, pointing out that Vermont also made its list in 1993 for the same reasons.

He criticized Wal-Mart and other retailers for not consulting properly with local communities before building giant stores, which changed the fabric of community life.

"We think Wal-Mart and other big box retailers should work with communities and have stores of a size and a design which are compatible with the community," he said.

In Vermont, Moe said there were currently four Wal-Mart Stores amounting to about 300,000 square feet of space and the company proposed quadrupling this to at least 1.3 million square feet in seven new stores.

"Vermont is a small state and it is uniquely a state of small towns. There is no question the character of this state will be dramatically changed if those seven stores are built," he said.

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