Vermont became one of 28 states to enter into an agreement with the National Forest Service this month in which the two entities pledged to share forest stewardship.
Shared stewardship “provides a framework that unites state and federal land managers in addressing landscape-scale resource needs while respecting individual direction and commitments,” the agreement, signed earlier this month, says.
In 2018, the United States Department of Agriculture began pursuing partnerships with state forest managers. They’re intended to establish and maintain a channel of communication for managing issues like invasive species, disease and wildfire, and will become more important as the climate changes, according to the document.
“The idea behind it is, we want to reaffirm that we are taking a holistic approach to forest management. Insect, disease, wildfires don’t end at jurisdictional boundaries,” said Lindsey Lewis, a spokesperson for the National Forest Service. “We’re making decisions together and looking at the forest as a whole.
Danielle Fitzko, director of Vermont’s Forestry Division within the Department of Forest, Parks and Recreation, said Vermont officials have a standing relationship with Green Mountain National Forest, but the agreement has prompted the groups to discuss priorities for the state.
The agreement identifies three focus areas within the state that both entities have agreed to prioritize. The first is enhancing the state’s working landscape, where the two entities have agreed to try to unify “groups and efforts across the state” to engage in a dialogue focused on “active, ecological management,” which includes using wood for business and economic development.
Second, the state and the Forest Service agree to expand the state’s capacity for restoration through work with local and private groups, along with towns, advocacy groups and academic institutions.
“Specific emphases will include protecting forest health and productivity; enhancing forest composition, structure, and growth; and understanding and addressing the impacts of climate change on forest health and productivity and the helpful role of forests in mitigating climate change effects and conferring landscape resilience,” the agreement says.
Finally, the entities agree to create opportunities for outdoor recreation, “favoring investments that leverage our limited resources and extend our capacity through integration and partnerships,” the agreement says.
The document stipulates that the parties will communicate regularly, will meet at least once per year in person to evaluate progress with respect to the agreement, and to advance their existing collaboration “to the benefit of forests and the people of Vermont.”
Julie Moore, the secretary of Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources, and Randy Moore, chief of the National Forest Service, signed the agreement.
The agreement “is a reflection of the spirit of cooperation between the Agency and the USDA Forest Service that extends back decades,” Secretary Moore said in a release. “Further, it solidifies our partnership for future leaders in both agencies and ensures synergy for true conservation of forests and other natural resources which rely on our forests, including clean air and water, wildlife, plants and fish.”
