Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative (FEMC) is happy to announce that content from our 2018 Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative Conference Forests and Climate Change: Managing impacts and planning for the future is now available at https://www.uvm.edu/femc/cooperative/conference/2018/content. Access video recordings and presentations from most of the talks and view the posters presented during our poster session.
By Christine McGowan, Forest Program Director, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund
Most of us think about a Christmas tree for a few weeks in December, but David Russell, owner of Russell Christmas Tree Farm in Starksboro, Vermont thinks about them just about every day of the year. In fact, right now, he’s starting to think about the tree that might end up in your living room in 2025.
Forest management on the Hinesburg Town Forest will commence this winter. This activity will include the strategic harvesting of trees, designed to increase species and structural diversity in the forest, improve wildlife habitat, capture economic value in mature and declining trees, encourage the growth and development of a healthy forest, demonstrate responsible forest stewardship and to highlight Vermont’s working landscape.
The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation’s Urban & Community Forestry Program (VT UCF), in partnership with the University of Vermont Extension, is offering grants to support efforts to prepare for and manage the impacts of emerald ash borer (EAB). EAB is a destructive and invasive forest pest that feeds on all species of ash trees, killing over 99% within four years of infestation. The state's forested land is made up of about 5% ash, yet up to 50% of downtown trees in Vermont are ash. All said, Vermont is home to an estimated 160 million ash trees.
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Now, in the comfort of your home or office, you can virtually attend one or all 5 of the 2-day Institute training sessions of the Silviculture Institute. Thanks to all the speakers and attendees for allowing everything - including every field trip stop - to be filmed. Now you can experience the tremendous silvicultural learning opportunity that is available at Institute offerings. |
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This was another successful year for Vermont's bald eagles with 23 known nesting pairs producing at least 33 successful young. |
The annual Vermont Forest Health Highlights for 2018 are now available. View Report
A few highlights:
USDA APHIS is proposing to end the federal emerald ash borer (EAB) quarantine. As indicated in the announcement below, USDA is taking comments on the proposed “deregulation”.
September's Forest Health Observation from VT Dept. of Forests, Parks and Recreation is now available.
The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has confirmed that insects collected from ash trees in South Hero, VT are larvae of the emerald ash borer (EAB). This location is about fifty miles from the closest confirmed EAB infestation in Vermont. This invasive insect was first discovered in Vermont in February, and has also been confirmed in Orange, Washington, Caledonia, and Bennington counties.