Reflections on a Land Ethic in Vermont

Enjoy these articles and reflections inspired by Aldo Leopold's land ethic. Want to share your land ethic here? We'd love to see it! Email allaire@vlt.org

Land Ethic Leaders on their Favorite books for winter reading

Missed LEV's Winter Reading 2021 event? Find our panelists' picks here! Ethan Tapper, Chittenden County Forester; Andrea Shortsleeve, Wildlife Biologist with Vermont Fish & Wildlife; Allan Thompson, President of Vermont Woodlands Association; Lisa Sausville, President of Vermont Coverts; Allaire Diamond, Ecologist with Vermont Land Trust; Steve Hagenbuch, Conservation Biologist with Audubon Vermont


an ethic of restoration

Tom Rogers reflects on restoring the land around his home.


Reflection on connection to the woods

A young writer's land ethic musings, written by 17-year-old Lauren Chuhta during her internship with Vermont Woodlands Association. 


Citizens of the land

Nine diverse perspectives on land connection, compiled from interviews by Allaire Diamond in Northern Woodlands Magazine's Summer 2021 issue.


Three Vermont woodland owners reflect on their land ethics

Dave Potter, Allen Yale, and Alan Robertson, owners of forestland in Vermont, share their land ethics and how these developed. 


Spring Ephemeral Flowers Make My Heart Sing!

Kathleen Wanner, Executive Director of Vermont Woodlands Association, shares the joy of a spring walk among spring ephemeral flowers in her forest, plus some sketches from her notebook.


Sugaring in Wabanahkik (Land of the Dawn)

Alexander Cotnoir, a citizen of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation, shares history, perspective, and stories about the Abenaki community's deep maple sugaring roots.


A Land Ethic and the 30x30 Initiative

Rob Terry, Executive Director, Merck Forest & Farmland Center ponders the vision for that which remains in the January 27, 2021, executive order to conserve 30% of the nation’s land and 30% of its coastal seas by 2030


The Long-Lost Art of Listening and Observing

Jared Nunery, Orleans County Forester with the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, & Recreation, on taking the time to listen from the perch of a Leopold bench


Protecting Vermont's Forests, One Deer at a Time

Lynn McNamara, Director of Stewardship, The Nature Conservancy Vermont reflects on her new avocation: hunting


Ecology and Management at Andrews Town Forest

A video conversation, held November 10, 2020, between forester Ethan Tapper (Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation) and ecologist Allaire Diamond (Vermont Land Trust) on two different approaches to caring for the same piece of land


Reflections on a Land Ethic: Choices and Action

Matt Breton, President of Vermont Fish & Wildlife Conservation Group and Board Member, New England chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers considers his land ethic when a maple limb falls in his yard 


Celebration of a conservation milestone: 100 Wildlife Management Areas

Kim Royar, Wildlife Biologist, Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife reflects on critical partnerships in wildlife conservation


Partners on a planet: thoughts on a land stewardship ethic

Leo LaFerriere, former Commissioner of Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation retired consulting forester, and board member of Vermont Woodlands Association penned this piece


Crafting a Land Ethic: Aldo Leopold’s Conservation Legacy

Dan Kilborn, Forester, Vermont Land Trust on his family's road trip to Aldo Leopold's farm and the many lessons he brought back home


The Browns River in Jericho, Vermont

Allaire Diamond, Ecologist, Vermont Land Trust explores the dynamic river behind her house during quarantine


Toward a Land Ethic in Vermont 

Allaire Diamond, Ecologist, Vermont Land Trust on the origins of Land Ethic Vermont


The Land Ethic 

written by Ethan Tapper, Chittenden County Forester, Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation


 A Sand County Almanac

Aldo Leopold's foundational 1949 text