Take Action to Protect Vermont's Farms and Forests!

April 2008

The House is now considering a bill, S.311, which will strengthen the Current Use Program - one of Vermont's best-tested tools to protect the state's forests and farmland. Strong public support to ensure it becomes law is essential at this time! Please contact your House member to voice your support for S.311. (Find out much more below about what you can do in the coming weeks to make this a reality...)

Why is this bill so important? Vermont’s rural landscapes and forestlands define our state and fuel our economy. Heavy financial burdens on farm and forestland owners, however, often force landowners to sell their land for development. The 30-year-old Current Use Program, which provides landowners with a financial incentive to keep their land undeveloped, is one of Vermont’s most widely supported and successful tools to help keep farm and forestland viable.

All Vermonters have much to gain by building upon the original goals of the program, which are to:

“. . . maintain and conserve Vermont’s productive agricultural and forest land; protect Vermont’s natural ecological systems; prevent the accelerated conversion of these lands to more intensive use by the pressure of property taxation; achieve more equitable taxation for undeveloped lands; preserve and enhance Vermont’s scenic natural resources; and enable the citizens of Vermont to plan for orderly growth in the face of increasing development pressures.”


The benefits of the Current Use Program to landowners as well as local communities include:
•    Fair property taxation to landowners enrolled in the program. Landowners are taxed at the value of keeping their forests and farmlands working and free from development, rather than at the generally higher fair market value. That significantly lowers their property taxes, one of the biggest costs of property ownership.
•    Keeping the costs of community services lower. Forestland and farms demand far fewer town services than residential subdivisions or commercial development. That keeps the costs of services for schools, roads, fire and police services and other town expenses lower.
•    Helping to maintain Vermont’s rural character and economy by keeping farmers and foresters on their land, working landscapes in production, and the state’s rural economy intact.


S.311 provides an important opportunity for strengthening the program. The bill:
•    Builds on consensus recommendations developed by a task force comprised of a diverse group of Vermonters. The task force heard testimony from a broad range of people and developed provisions to strengthen the program. The bulk of the task force’s recommendations are incorporated in S.311.  
•    Offers the opportunity to expand participation in the popular program. Landowners will have more flexibility to enroll important ecological areas such as wetlands and rare natural communities, as well as productive forestland and farmland.  Municipalities will have more options for enrolling land that helps protect reservoirs and watersheds.
•    Strengthens the program. The bill offers several ways to improve the administration of the program.  The bill streamlines paperwork requirements and seeks to modernize the electronic sharing and filing of forms to improve accuracy, timeliness, and communication between landowners and those who oversee the program.

This is the time to turn this bill into law! It is expected that the Vermont Legislature will recess in May. Please take action today. If S.311 doesn’t make it through the legislative process this year — and get signed by the Governor — Vermont will lose one of the best opportunities in years to expand one of the states strongest farm and forestland conservation programs. Help make the most of this chance!

WHAT CAN YOU DO?
•    Write a letter to the editor and send it to your local paper and a couple statewide media outlets. Find out tips on writing effective letters to the editor and contact information for newspapers here.

•    Contact your House Representative directly. Let him or her know you want them to support S.311. Leave a message from them with the Sergeant-of-Arms at 802-828-2228 or send them an email.  To find your legislator go to <http://www.leg.state.vt.us/legdir/findmember2.cfm>.

•    Send an even stronger statement! Write a handwritten note and send it to your Rep. at:
        Honorable Rep. __________
        Vermont Statehouse
        115 State Street
        Montpelier, VT  05633

•    Ask your friends and family in Vermont to take action by writing a letter to the editor and or contacting their lawmakers directly to voice support for S.311.

•    Click here or contact us for more information on S.311 and to find out how you might be able to help at this critical time. Call 802-223-2328 or email jfidel@vnrc.org.

 

Comments