Last week, Representative Amy Sheldon (D-Middlebury), Chair of the House Environment Committee, introduced a bill in the Vermont General Assembly to designate certain state lands as Wildlands. H.276, the “Vermont Climate Resilience and State Wildlands Act” will protect 268,000 acres of state public lands as Wildlands and create a process for the designation of future State Wildlands. This bill was the result of considerable work by many Standing Trees members and supporters, and provides a critical tool to meet the requirements of the Vermont Climate Resilience and Biodiversity Protection Act (Act 59), which codified the Vermont Conservation Design goal of managing at least 10% of Vermont to recover old-growth forests.
The Vermont landscape was dominated by old forests prior to the arrival of European settlers. These old forests provided the conditions for Vermont’s native peoples, flora and fauna to thrive. As described in Vermont Conservation Design, Vermont was a “landscape of old, structurally complex forests punctuated by natural disturbance gaps and occasional natural openings such as wetlands or rock outcrops.” This changed dramatically after European settlement, as Vermont’s forests were repeatedly logged and cleared for agriculture .
The Vermont Climate Resilience and State Wildlands Act establishes an essential tool for restoring balance to Vermont’s landscape. Although 76% of Vermont is forested, old-growth forests are, in the words of Vermont Conservation Design, “essentially absent” from the landscape. The State Wildlands Act will protect 268,000 acres of State Parks, State Forests, and Wildlife Management Areas, increasing the amount of land managed to recover old forests from 4% to 7% of Vermont. By allowing two-thirds of forests on state lands to develop naturally, Vermont can finally recover some of the myriad benefits associated with old forests that we have lost over the last few hundred years. As forests grow older, they develop the biomass and structural complexity that provides habitat for the greatest diversity of Vermont’s species, while also keeping the most carbon possible out of the air, providing the most oxygen, absorbing the most particulates, providing clean, cold water, and protecting against extreme weather events.
Why use state lands to recover old forests? 80% of Vermont is privately owned, and the vast majority of these lands are legally available for timber harvest. Only 2% of Vermont's annual wood harvest comes from state lands. Vermont does not have a wood shortage; on average, 50% more timber is harvested annually than is consumed in-state. Vermont is already committed by the Vermont Climate Resilience and Biodiversity Protection Act (Act 59) to managing 10% of the state's land area to recover old forests. State lands also represent some of Vermont’s largest and most critical remaining blocks of intact forest, and are overwhelmingly located in headwaters whose health is essential for clean water and flood mitigation. The State Wildlands Act is a low-cost strategy to meet the old forests mandate and increase flood protection for Vermont communities, improve water quality, protect biodiversity, remove planet-warming carbon, and support our recreation economy, all while minimizing impacts to the flow of wood products.
We deeply appreciate your support for our work to “Protect and Restore Forests on New England’s Public Lands.” With your help, this bill has been introduced by one of Vermont’s most courageous and visionary lawmakers, Representative Amy Sheldon. With your advocacy in the coming months, we’ll work to make sure that this legislation is passed and becomes law. Protecting our forests for all the species that depend on them, and for current and future generations, is a legacy we can all be proud of.
Please join us in thanking Rep Amy Sheldon for her leadership by sending an email to ASheldon@leg.state.vt.us, and stay tuned for action updates as this bill begins its journey through the statehouse.
Mark
Standing Trees Board Chair
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