After a quarter-century at the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation — and a dozen years as its commissioner — Michael Snyder is stepping down at the end of the year.
His departure is effective January 1, 2023: his 60th birthday.
“It’s been a long time,” Snyder said in an interview Friday. “Kind of extraordinarily long in a role like this. It’s very demanding. And at the same time, I feel good about where we’re at.”
Snyder said he decided to time his resignation with the start of a new legislative biennium, which should give whoever succeeds him the chance to get started at the same time as a new crop of lawmakers arrives in Montpelier come January.
Gov. Phil Scott has not yet named Snyder’s replacement.
The outgoing commissioner said he is looking forward to being home more with his young adopted daughter, but that while he didn’t have anything immediately lined up, he wasn’t retiring just yet.
“I am eager to explore the evolution and next phases of my conservation and recreation career,” he said.
Snyder said his departure was bittersweet and that he was particularly proud of working alongside the department’s staff to acquire more forestland and develop more state parks; modernize oversight of and increase economic support for the forestry sector; and develop the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative and the Working Lands Initiative.
“It’s ‘pinch me’ stuff,” he said. “It’s been an incredible honor.”
Snyder has been at the helm of the department, which oversees the management of 360,000 acres of state-owned forest land and 55 state parks, since 2011. The $32 million state agency has a year-around staff of just shy of 150 people and seasonal staff of about 400.
A holdover from Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin’s administration, Snyder was re-appointed by Gov. Phil Scott when the Republican took office in 2017. Before being made commissioner, Snyder spent 14 years as the department’s forester for Chittenden County.
“I want to extend my sincere appreciation for Commissioner Snyder’s twelve years of service as Commissioner of the Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation,” Scott said in a press release issued Friday by the Agency of Natural Resources. “Michael has been a strong advocate for our forest economy, outdoor recreation, and so much of what makes Vermont special. I’m grateful for his efforts and wish him all the best.”
Annual attendance in the state’s parks grew by nearly 40%, from 800,000 visitors annually in 2011 to more than 1.1 million visitors this past summer, according to the ANR press release.
In the same statement, Secretary of Natural Resources Julie Moore said she was “extremely proud” of Snyder’s work, which she said ranged from “responding to the increasing threats of climate change” to “overseeing the addition of more than 12,000 acres of state forest and state park lands through 34 projects.”
“Moreover, I am grateful for his service and, even more so, the opportunity to learn from someone so deeply passionate and knowledgeable about the Vermont landscape,” she said.
The lifelong forester is also a writer. In 2019, Snyder published “Woods Whys: An Exploration of Forests and Forestry,” a collection of essays from his column in Northern Woodlands magazine.