PowerPoint Presentation

2015 Forest Fragmentation ReportLink to ANR Report at http://fpr.vermont.gov/sites/fpr/files/About_the_Department/News/Library/FOREST%20FRAGMENTATION_FINAL_rev06-03-15.pdf

Act 61 requires the Commissioner of Forests, Parks, and Recreation to consult with interested stakeholders and to develop proposed legislation for implementing the policy options contained within the Departments 2015 Vermont Forest Fragmentation Report. 1

FORESTVALUESVermonts Forests Work for AllPhotos Susan C. MorseMove relatively quickly through these statements of values2

Forest Products Economy$1.4 billion in economic output to Vermonts economyEmploys 10,555 people8% of the states manufacturing value

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Economics of Scenery, Fall Foliage, Tourism and Recreation

$1.9 billion in annual sales from forestbased recreation46% attributed to fall foliage704 million in wildlife-based recreation activities

Susan C. Morse37,000 tourism jobs, accounts for 11.5% of state employment10,050 forest-based recreation jobs4,400 hunting and fishing jobs4

Flood Protection, Clean Water Supply, and Clean AirTempers frequency, intensity, and extent of floodingLowers peak flows and volumes of runoffFilters waters impurities Removes significant amount of fine particulate matter from the airReduces the need for costly infrastructure to clean water and air

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Wildlife and BiodiversityFood resourcesCover including shelters and structuresShading and cooling efforts to temper moisture fluctuationsSpace to access food, breeding areas, and safe travel pathwaysHabitats to sustain diverse populations of plants and animals

Photos Susan C. Morse6

Climate Change Mitigation Remove and store massive amounts of greenhouse gas emissionsSequester 8 MMTCO2e per year, almost as much as our emissions$16 million in air pollution removal

Photos Susan C. Morse

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Human Health, Quality of Life, and Cultural HeritageImprove human health including improved mood, blood pressure, and immune systemContributes to quality of lifeWorking landscape and recreation heritage is valued by Vermonters

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FOREST FRAGMENTATION TERMINOLOGYIntactParcelizedParcelized and FragmentedCenter for Land Use Education and Research. University of Connecticut9

DRIVERS OF FOREST PARCELIZATION AND FRAGMENTATIONPARCELIZATIONFRAGMENTTIONDRIVERS Escalating property values and land prices Increased property taxes Conveyance of land from aging landowners Exurbanization

A Snapshot of the Northeastern Forests, USDA Forest Service publication, October 2005Key to understand the underlying drivers of fragmentation. Best bet to inform policy development.10LinearInfrastructure DEVELOPMENTCOVERSION OF FOREST TO NON-FORESTUSESMechanisms OF FRAGMENTATION

Photo, Above and Beyond. Campoli, J., Humstone, E., & MacLean, A. 200211FRAGMENTATION

2003196612PATTERNS MATTERLess fragmented forest in rural communityMore intensely fragmented in a rural community

Notes from Jens slidesthe pattern of where there is forest or other habitat matters.The pic at left is forest cover in Killington and Bridgewater while the pic at right is of Hartland.Left is a bigger block of contiguous forest.Hartland is a rural town with no zoning and an even amount of low density development along all these rural roads. The net effect is a pattern of tiny forest blocks. That pattern means that the dont get Moose or Bear or other deep forest species in Hartland.

13EDGE EFFECT

ISOLATION EFFECT

14POLICY OPTIONSThe people of Vermont have much to gain from building on recent progress by recommitting to land conservation, re-visioning land-use planning and policy efforts, and promoting a sustainable forest economy.CONSERVATIONLANDOWNER INCENTIVESLAND USE PLANNING

EDUCATION AND OUTREACHSUSTAINABLE FORESTRY AND VERMONT FOREST ECONOMY

Fortunately, not necessarily new. Has occurred elsewhere. Has been discussed here. Options exist.Report spells them out in great detail. For brevity, outlining them here.15Monitoring Forest Fragmentation National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) = 30m PixelUpdated every 5 years with % change calculations from previous versionMisses the isolated (single house) development typical of VTMisses small roadsUnsuitable for monitoring VT Forest Fragmentation

NOAA CCAP 200616Need a regularly updated dataset with finer scale resolution to track forest fragmentationHabitat Blocks (2011 Sorenson & Osborne) is a good product but based on NOAA CCAP (30m pixel) with standardized road buffers to create blocksMonitoring Forest Fragmentation

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