Editor’s note: This commentary is by Heather Furman, who is the Vermont state director of The Nature Conservancy.
[F]or all the patience it demands, conservation work also requires diligence, resources and action. Our bucolic Vermont setting may lull us into a sense that our work here is somehow less urgent. But in a time of climate change, extreme weather events, increased development, fragmented forests and compromised water quality, the demands are only greater and our work only more relevant.
Although encouraging to hear Gov. Shumlin focus on the environment in his inaugural address, we must all work harder to communicate and understand the importance of a thriving natural infrastructure.
The Nature Conservancy applies scientific research and data to protect land and water for wildlife and people and never has this work seemed more significant in the face of Vermont’s current challenges. For the first time in 100 years, Vermont’s forests are on the decline, extreme weather events are on the rise and despite years of work, the challenges to Lake Champlain’s water quality persist.
Sometimes the successes are small, like conserving a one acre parcel that buffers a sensitive wetland and adds to a mosaic of conserved ecosystems. The larger tracts typically get the most attention and although easily viewed as home runs, they can take years of work to acquire. Often, these projects are part of an even larger plan to link important wildlife corridors or ensure the resiliency of an ecosystem. But in the bigger picture of Vermont, what do these one acre or 1,100 acre acquisitions represent? What do the hours of water quality analysis and flood prevention study mean? More plainly, what is the value of our work to the Green Mountain State and our residents?
Our conservation work is not simply a “nice to have,” but essential to our economic and social well-being. Without adequate investments to protect our natural resources, we lose their benefits: wetlands that filter pollutants and store water to prevent floods, forests that absorb carbon, attract tourism and support wildlife, and a biologically diverse landscape that can withstand the impacts of climate change.
Our economic realities often take center stage and grab the most attention around our dinner tables, in the media and for our legislators. Our conservation work must be woven into those conversations. Although encouraging to hear Gov. Shumlin focus on the environment in his inaugural address, we must all work harder to communicate and understand the importance of a thriving natural infrastructure. In its absence, we all suffer — from our $3.4 billion forest product industry (“The Economic Importance of Vermont’s Forest-Based Economy 2013,” North East State Foresters Association), to our tourism economy, to our land and waterways on which our native species depend. The health and vitality of our state is dependent on our conservation commitment to protecting the critical natural assets that define our landscape, our history and ultimately, our future.
