Vermont trees will continue to breathe for the whole planet
Nearly 5,000 acres of unfragmented forest stretching between Vermont and Quebec and containing globally significant boreal forest has been permanently protected.
March 21 is the International Day of Forests. A version of this story originally appeared in the Spring 2024 issue of Saving Land magazine.
A vast expanse of trees, blossoming in spring, means life in the northern Green Mountains of Vermont — absorbing carbon dioxide and sheltering the species that migrate through this block of newly protected land. A partnership of three accredited land trusts — Vermont Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy in Vermont and Northeast Wilderness Trust — recently conserved nearly 5,000 acres here, on the northern and western slopes of the Green Mountains.
"We know that species are moving about 11 miles north and 30 feet in elevation each decade now, in response to climate change," Eve Frankel, who leads the Nature Conservancy in Vermont, told Vermont Public Radio. "So having these large tracts of protected forests allow for species movement ... and that means everything from mammals to trees and plants."
Formerly owned by the Atlas Timber Company, the land is part of a 10,000-acre unfragmented forest stretching between Vermont and Quebec that contains globally significant boreal forest. Approximately 2,000 acres will be managed under a permanent conservation easement held by Vermont Land Trust that allows for sustainably managed commercial timber harvests and public recreation. The rest is protected by a “forever-wild” conservation easement held by The Nature Conservancy and owned by Northeast Wilderness Trust. That land, called Bear’s Nest Wilderness Preserve, will be permanently protected from logging.
In 2023, Vermont passed the Community Resilience and Biodiversity Protection Act setting a goal to conserve 30% of the state’s land and water by 2030 and 50% by 2050. This partnership is an investment in Vermont’s future that will help the state reach those goals.
Via Vermont Public Radio:
‘When we think about the 30x30 initiative, this is what we're talking about, in terms of how we protect land in the future,’ said Tracy Zschau, president and CEO of Vermont Land Trust.
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‘You can look at an old forest as a bank,’ said Jon Leibowitz, executive director of Northeast Wilderness Trust. ‘There's a lot of carbon already stored there. And the best thing that we can do for our climate is to leave those trees standing where they are.’
Forestland protection means trees that continue to breathe for the planet — and all of us.