As established in Act 183 of 2022, the Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation created the Vermont Forest Future Strategic Roadmap to strengthen, modernize, promote, and protect the forest products sector and forest economy for the many values and benefits they provide to all of us. The Vermont Forest Future Strategic Roadmap final report was released in early 2024. This page provides background information on the Vermont Forest Future Strategic Roadmap. To learn about the current work being done by the Department and partners, visit the Roadmap Implementation page.
Intended Outcomes of the Roadmap
The intended outcomes of the Vermont Forest Future Strategic Roadmap are to:
- Increase sustainable economic development and jobs in Vermont’s forest economy.
- Promote ways to expand the workforce and strengthen forest product enterprises in order to strengthen, modernize, promote, and protect the Vermont forest economy into the future
- Promote the importance of healthy, resilient, and sustainably managed working forests that provide a diverse array of high-quality products now and in the future.
- Identify actionable strategies designed to strengthen, modernize, promote, and protect the forest products sector in Vermont, including opportunities for new product development, opening new markets for Vermont forest products, adopting modern manufacturing processes, and utilizing new ways to market Vermont forest products.
Why is a Roadmap needed?
- Vermont’s forest economy provides more than 13,000 jobs, more than $2 billion in economic output, and supports the growing recreational and tourism sectors.
- The relationship between the forest economy and Vermont’s forest landscape is a balancing act of benefits and costs. Vermont’s forest economy relies on access to forestlands, while forest landowners rely on the economic benefits from the forest economy to maintain intact forestland.
- Vermont is losing thousands of acres of forestland to non-forest uses each year, destabilizing the forest economy and threatening Vermont’s forested working landscape. A revitalization of the forest economy has been identified as a primary strategy for keeping forests forested for the many values and benefits forests provide while supporting Vermonters engaged in the working forest landscape - from landowners to sawmills.
Roadmap Development Process
Development of the Roadmap began in November 2023 and concluded in March 2024 with the release of the Vermont Forest Future Strategic Roadmap final report. The development process was designed to follow a series of key steps, including exploring stakeholder perceptions, building future scenarios, and developing a strategic framework and actions. The Department placed a high priority on stakeholder and industry engagement, with numerous opportunities offered for meaningful input into the development of the Roadmap.
You can visit the Vermont Forest Future Strategic Roadmap project portal to learn more about the Roadmap development process.
Advisory Panel
The Commissioner convened an Advisory Panel to review and provide counsel on the development of the Roadmap. The Advisory Panel dissolved in early 2024 when the final report was released.
Members of the Advisory Panel
- Trevor Allard, Allard Lumber Company
- Tom Beck, Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk-Abenaki Nation
- Chris Brooks, Vermont Wood Pellet Company LLC
- Chris Castano, Maine Woods Company
- Scott Duffy, Rockledge Farm Woodworks
- Jamey Fidel, Vermont Natural Resources Council
- Chris Fife, Weyerhaeuser
- Charlie Hancock, North Woods Forestry
- Steve Hardy, Green Mountain Forestry
- Liz Gleason, Vermont Housing and Conservation Board
- Dave Lane, Farm Credit East
- Ed Larson, Vermont Forest Products Association
- Elizabeth Lesnikoski, Burlington Electric Department
- Chris Lindgren, the University of Vermont Extension
- Abby Long, Kingdom Trail Association
- Gabe Russo, Southwind Forestry LLC
- Luke McNally, Ruffed Grouse Society
- Joe Short, Northern Forest Center
- Allan Thompson, Vermont Woodlands Association