Forests, Wildlife Communities Project: Working Locally to Conserve Habitat

Spring 2008 

According to Vermont's Wildlife Action Plan, habitat loss, due to degradation, conversion and, fragmentation, is one of the leading threats to Vermont's Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN).

To address this problem, the Vermont Natural Resources Council, Audubon Vermont, the Northern Forest Alliance, Vermont Coverts and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department have partnered together in a project aimed at helping landowners and communities reduce fragmentation, parcelization, and wildlife habitat loss – all central strategies in Vermont's Wildlife Action Plan (WAP). This partnership – called the Forests, Wildlife, Communities Project (FWC Project) is interested in partnering with partnering with local and regional planning commissions, conservation commissions, and interested parties in key regional areas to share information and comprehensive conservation strategies at the town level. 

The Forests, Wildlife and Communities team offers multiple strategies for towns and conservation commissions to support Vermont’s Wildlife Action Plan. Specifically the FWC team can offer the following technical support:

The Forests, Wildlife and Communities team can offer multiple strategies to support Vermont’s Wildlife Action Plan. Specifically the FWC team can offer the following technical support:

1)    Provide technical workshops to landowners that will explain habitat management strategies, wildlife monitoring, estate planning, and available federal and state technical assistance programs. 
2)    Establish wildlife habitat management demonstrations and educational programs on town-owned forests as a way to engage the broader community and landowners about habitat conservation.
3)    Develop regulatory and non-regulatory policies and model language for town plans, zoning and subdivision bylaws that can be incorporated into the local planning process to reduce forest and habitat fragmentation and conserve wildlife habitat.
4)     Create a broad-based citizen constituency engaged and educated about implementing the Wildlife Action Plan and strategies for forest and wildlife conservation.


The FWC Project can help address the WAP strategies to “develop and implement landowner incentives, technical assistance and education for sustainable management of species of greatest conservation need,” including “providing outreach materials and technical assistance to encourage sound land management” and developing a “landscape level planning effort for private land that addresses the needs of late and early successional species.”

To do this, the Vermont Natural Resources Council and Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department can offer:
•    Community outreach to local decision makers who serve on conservation commissions, development review boards and local and regional planning commissions to share planning strategies to conserve wildlife habitat for SGCN.
•    Technical support to help local municipalities and residents identify and map priority forestland and wildlife resources, and review the strengths and weaknesses of existing plans to reduce the impacts of forest fragmentation.
•    Technical assistance workshops to explain cutting edge planning methods for reducing habitat loss and forest fragmentation through zoning, subdivision regulations, and non-regulatory approaches.

To do this, Audubon Vermont and Vermont Coverts can offer:
•    Landowner workshops to address the importance of Vermont’s forests for SGCN and offer ways to implement sound forest management.
•    Follow-up one-on-one habitat assessments will be conducted for the participants. (These will be used to help landowners create or adjust management plans that favor both early and late successional dependent wildlife habitat.)
•    Additional workshops and information to participants on monitoring wildlife populations, practices that are eligible for cost-share and incentive based funds through state and federal programs, and estate planning to ensure that forestland remains unfragmented.

The FWC Project can also help to implement the specific WAP strategy to “address issues such as sprawl and poorly planned development that drive habitat conversion and degradation” by assisting local and regional land-use planning organizations such as towns and regional planning commissions to “support plans that identify natural resources and wildlife values and take steps to conserve habitat.”

Finally, the FWC Project can help implement the WAP strategy of “developing outreach and education programs that promote the conservation of SGCN and the habitats that they rely on.”

To accomplish this, The Northern Forest Alliance (NFA) can help:
•    Create a multigenerational, citizen based interest in enhanced wildlife habitat protection on public and private lands through a step by step public engagement and learning process centered around town forests.
•    Generate enthusiasm for Vermont WAP implementation by convening public meetings at community owned forests to educate landowners and citizens about habitat conservation techniques. (Information about the town’s forests and wildlife will be shared at these meetings and participants will draft a community “forest and wildlife statement.”)
•    Develop an educational Vermont Town Forest Stewardship Resource Guide to explain habitat conservation strategies that can be broadly replicated across town forests.

The project partners have selected two regional areas in Vermont to serve as pilot projects - the Mad River Valley and Orange County Headwaters Area.  Please contact the project leaders below to learn about technical support opportunities.

Jamey Fidel, Vermont Natural Resources Council  - 802-223-2328 ext. 117 – jfidel@vnrc.org
Jens Hilke, Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department – 802-476-0126 - Jens.Hilke@state.vt.us 
George Gay, Northern Forest Alliance – 802-253-8227 ext. 11 - ggay@nfainfo.org
Lisa Sausville, Vermont Coverts – 802-349-6803 – lisa@vtcoverts.org
Jim Shallow, Audubon Vermont – 802-434-3068 -  jshallow@audubon.org