In Vermont, conservation commissions are advisory bodies that exist in many towns across the state. Broadly, they are established to help communities protect and enhance their natural resources.

Audubon Vermont is a state program of the National Audubon Society. Through the Forest Bird Initiative, Audubon provides educational outreach and technical assistance to landowners and land managers on how to manage forests with birds in mind. Specific projects include "Foresters for the Birds" and "Bird-Friendly Maple".

The Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center (BEEC) is a member-based, nonprofit organization founded in 1991 with the mission to develop a more ecologically informed citizenry through education and action in order to enhance and sustain the vitality of southern Vermont’s bioregion.

CHC is a regional conservation partnership. Our vision is a healthy and intact forested landscape that supports a strong and sustainable local economy through stewardship, with permanent protection of core wildlife habitat and connectivity across the entire Northern Forest.

The Duxbury Land Trust is a private, non-profit organization based in Duxbury, Vermont. Our mission is to preserve and protect the natural, historic and scenic resources that contribute to our town’s rural character. In particular, we are interested in conserving Duxbury’s wetlands and riparian corridors; upland and ridgeline forests, recreational areas and important wildlife habitat.

ECHO's mission is to educate and delight people about the Ecology, Culture, History, and Opportunities for Stewardship of the Lake Champlain Basin.

To encourage the responsible use of the land and protection of our natural and cultural history by providing the opportunity to interact with the environment through education, research and environmentally sensitive recreation.

The Mission of the Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium is to inspire appreciation for our place in the natural world and to motivate our stewardship of a healthy planet.

We can work for you! The Field Naturalist program brings motivated students to the intersection of the natural environment and human nature. Our two-year graduate curriculum integrates science, fieldwork, critical thinking and public communications to produce leaders in environmental policy, land stewardship, research, conservation and education.

The mission of the Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative is to serve the northeast temperate forest region through improved understanding of long-term trends, annual conditions, and interdisciplinary relationships of the physical, chemical, and biological components of forested ecosystems.

The Friends of the Mad River is a private, non-profit organization committed to protecting, improving and enhancing the ecological, recreational, and community values of the Mad River and its watershed.

The Friends of the Winooski River is dedicated to the protection and restoration of the Winooski River. Our goals are to reduce pollution, improve habitat, increase river stability and encourage passive and sustainable enjoyment of the river.

The mission of the Green Mountain Club is to make the Vermont mountains play a larger part in the life of the people by protecting and maintaining the Long Trail System and fostering, through education, the stewardship of Vermont’s hiking trails and mountains.

The Hogback Mountain Ski Area closed in 1984 and was subsequently purchased at auction by investors in 1993 with a eye toward development.  The property was again offered for sale in 2005 prompting community members to dream of ways to maintain public access to these lands.  This in turn led to the formation in 2006 of the Hogback Mountain Conservation Association (HMCA), a group of local citizens who volunteered their time in a four-year effort to raise the funds to buy Hogback Mountain and protect it from development with a permanent conservation easement.  HMCA's role continues  today as a volunteer organization whose members work under the purview of the Town’s Hogback Preservation Commission. Open to anyone with an interest in the outdoors, HMCA’s goals are to help sustain Hogback Mountain both as a natural wildlife habitat and a low-impact recreation area.  This magnificent mountain offers 100-mile views of mountain ranges in Vermont, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, miles of trails, historic foundations, and a fertile, natural background for educational and environmental studies.

Keeping Track® is a non-profit organization founded in 1994 by Susan C. Morse, a nationally known naturalist, out of her concern that development in all its forms often unwittingly harms, isolates and even eliminates habitat critical to local biodiversity and broad-scale ecological health.

Linking Lands Alliance is a grassroots, collaborative effort working in Vermont to address natural resource issues that transcend town borders.

Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park is the only national park to tell the story of conservation history and the evolving nature of land stewardship in America. The park interprets the historic home of the Marsh, Billings, and Rockefeller families, their conservation work and stewardship of the forest landscape and the emergence of an American conservation ethic. The 550-acre woodlands continue to be managed for protection of natural resources, education, recreation, sustainable forestry, historic character, and scenic beauty.

Merck Forest and Farmland Center (MFFC) is a nonprofit educational organization with a mission to teach and to demonstrate the benefits of innovative, sustainable management of forest and farmland.

The mission of Middlebury Area Land Trust is to conserve the working landscape, important natural areas, special open spaces, areas with key visual or aesthetic attributes, to link green spaces, where possible, and to protect water quality.

The Missisquoi River Basin Association (MRBA) is an active, non-profit group of volunteers dedicated to the restoration of the Missisquoi River, its tributaries, and the Missisquoi Bay.

Montshire Museum’s mission is to awaken and encourage a lifelong interest in science through exhibits and programming dedicated to hands-on discovery and education for people of all ages. Unique to this mission is Montshire’s 100-acre New England riverfront setting, which fosters deep and creative learning in both the physical and natural sciences.

The Moosalamoo Association is a nonprofit organization that brings together specialists in tourism and conservation to learn from each other and to develop a framework for cooperative activities for natural resource conservation, recreation experience enhancement, and educational and interpretive services for the visitors to the Moosalamoo National Recreation Area.

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a voluntary program that provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers to plan and implement conservation practices that improve soil, water, plant, animal, air and related natural resources on agricultural land and non-industrial private forestland.

We're a small preserve with a big heart at a gentle bend in the North Branch of the Winooski River. For more than a decade North Branch Nature Center has put people in touch with the sights, sounds and sensations of the wild within our capital.

The mission of the Northeast Wilderness Trust is to conserve forever-wild landscapes for nature and people.

Connecting people and place through science, education and action.

We are a Nature Center in Bennington, Vermont.  We bring nature education and experience to our community and its visitors.  Our work is grounded in our local ecology and linked to global biodiversity.

Programs and activities serve adults, families and children.  Go to our calendar for current and upcoming activities.  Over the course of a year, we will offer lectures on our local history and ecology, natural science explorations for children and families, science lessons in area classrooms and school field trips to our Greenberg Reserve and much more.  We contribute local data to the Vermont Atlas of Life project of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies.

Our mission is to provide educational experiences that prepare secondary and adult students with the knowledge and skills to enter the workforce in careers that are high skilled, high demand, and that pay a livable wage and to continue their education.

Shelburne Farms is a nonprofit organization educating for a sustainable future. That means learning that links knowledge, inquiry, and action to help students build a healthy future for their communities and the planet.  Our home campus is a 1,400-acre working farm, forest, and National Historic Landmark.

Founded by legendary conservationist John Muir in 1892, the Sierra Club is now the nation's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization -- with more than two million members and supporters. Our successes range from protecting millions of acres of wilderness to helping pass the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act. More recently, we've made history by leading the charge to move away from the dirty fossil fuels that cause climate disruption and toward a clean energy economy.

Our mission as foresters is to be responsible stewards of the earth's forests while meeting society's vital needs.

South Hero Land Trust has dedicated itself to working within the community to protect and nurture our most important assets: the land, and the people who live, play, love, and grow on it.

Stowe Land Trust is dedicated to the conservation of scenic, recreational, and productive farm and forest lands for the benefit of the greater Stowe community.

Sweet Water Trust is a grant-making foundation whose mission is to support land conservation that safeguards wild lands and waters, native wild flora and fauna, and living soils.

Conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends

Trout Unlimited is a national organization with more than 150,000 members organized into about 400 chapters from Maine to Montana to Alaska. This dedicated grassroots army is matched by a respected staff of lawyers, policy experts and scientists, who work out of more than 30 offices nationwide. These conservation professionals ensure that TU is at the forefront of fisheries restoration work at the local, state and national levels.

TRORC is a regional planning commission that provides professional planning, land use, mapping, grant writing, and project management services to our thirty member towns in east central Vermont. We strive to to ensure that our towns remain healthy and vibrant places to live, work, and visit.

The Upper Valley Land Trust helps people conserve land in 45 New Hampshire and Vermont towns.

The U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station’s science is complex, but the need for the research is simple. Land managers, city planners, and policy-makers need sound science on all aspects of the natural world and its complex connections with people to achieve decisions resulting in a healthy and sustainable future for present and future generations of Americans. Science at our station follows five themes: forest disturbance processes, urban natural resource stewardship, sustaining forests, providing clean air and water, and natural resources inventory, monitoring and assessment.

Seventy eight percent of Vermont is covered in woods, and eighty percent of those forests are privately owned. Conservation districts and their partners know that decisions forest owners make today will affect the face of our wild landscapes, the quality of the habitats they represent, and the ecological services they provide for our communities for generations to come.

The mission of Vermont Coverts is to enlist Vermont landowners in a long term commitment to maintain and enhance diverse wildlife habitat and healthy ecosystems.

The department's mission is "the conservation of fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the people of Vermont." Other challenges include providing quality fish and wildlife-based recreation and reaching Vermonters with the best possible information about these resources.

Forests and Forestry 

State Parks

Recreation 

Motivating individuals and communities to care for the environment through education, research, and avian wildlife rehabilitation.

Vermont Land Trust protects farms, forests, water ways, and recreation areas that give Vermont its rural character and economy. Since 1977, VLT has permanently conserved more than 1,900 parcels of land covering more than 550,000 acres, or about nine percent of the private, undeveloped land in the state. This conserved land includes more than 900 working farms and farmland parcels, hundreds of thousands of acres of productive forestland and wildlife habitat, and numerous community spaces. Protecting this land ensures it will be available for future generations to use and enjoy.

VNRC is a statewide environmental organization that has been working for over 50 years to protect and restore Vermont's environment and communities. VNRC uses technical assistance to towns, research, education, and advocacy on state policy issues in order to promote Vermont's natural environments, productive working landscapes, intact wildlife habitat, clean water, clean energy, and vibrant downtowns and villages.

SWEEP is the Vermont State-Wide Environmental Education Programs, a nonprofit coalition of individuals and organizations whose mission is to promote a sustainable future by fostering exceptional environmental literacy work through our state and regional networks.

Conserving wildlife and preserving our outdoor heritage for future generations of outdoorsmen and women.Ensuring the controlled harvest of wild fur bearing animals to maintain healthy populations within the carrying capacity of the environment.

In December 2014, Vermont joined the prestigious network of the National Wild & Scenic Rivers System when a congressional action designated 46.1 miles of the Upper Missisquoi River and the Trout River as Wild & Scenic.

The Vermont Woodlands Association strives to educate, train, and support private forest landowners in sound management practices concerning wildlife, water, wood, and recreation.

The White River Natural Resources Conservation District is a locally led and operated organization that promotes and supports soil and water conservation.

Since 1996, the White River Partnership has been bringing people and communities together to improve the long-term health of Vermont’s White River watershed.

The Northeast Section of The Wildlife Society represents the concerns of wildlife professionals in 11 northeastern states (CT, DE, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT, WV). We welcome your involvement in the Section and we are here to serve you, the wildlife professionals residing in the northeast.

The MISSION of the Northeast Section of The Wildlife Society is to foster excellence in wildlife stewardship through science and education among wildlife professionals within the northeastern United States.

The Windham County Natural Resources Conservation District (WCNRCD) helps landowners and users, agricultural producers, and communities throughout Windham County, Vermont conserve land and water by providing services such as: technical assistance, education and outreach, workshops and financial assistance.

Windham Regional Woodlands Association is a group of people who care deeply about the wooded lands of southeastern Vermont.

The District completes valuable conservation projects within the areas of agricultural assistance, forestland enhancement, urban conservation and watershed stewardship.