Conceived of and convened by VNRC in 2006, the Roundtable is a venue for the exchange of information relating to forest policy, and keeping Vermont’s forests as forests, with particular attention focused on addressing parcelization and forest fragmentation.
VNRC’s goal as convener of the Roundtable has been to create an open forum to which people with a wide range of perspectives could exchange information and, where possible, develop recommendations for policy changes.
The Roundtable has grown in participation and interest, with close to 250 people now tracking its progress. Participants have included conservation groups, consulting foresters, professional planners, government officials, landowner organizations, outdoor recreation and sporting interests, representatives from the forest products industry, legislators, staff from Vermont’s congressional delegation, and researchers and professors.
One of the Roundtable’s first efforts was a report in 2007 on the status of forests and the increasing threat of forest fragmentation and parcelization. The report included priority recommendations for addressing these threats, including proactive tax policy, land use planning, landowner incentives, valuing ecosystem services, and maintaining a sustainable forest products economy.
Informed by the Roundtable, VNRC worked to implement many of these recommendations in partnership with various organizations and state and federal agencies. Over the following years, we updated this research twice, most recently in 2018. Find all reports here at https://vtforesttrends.vnrc.org/reports.
