The Commission approved staff’s recommendation to delegate authority to the Director to approve sale of merchantable timber at Riverside State Park; the motion included direction that cash proceeds be reinvested into natural resource stewardship and interpretive activities. Motion was moved by Sophia Danenberg and approved unanimously.

The board approved two DNRC timber sales: Elk Veil (minimum bid $12/ton; ~ $60,228 to Common Schools trust plus ~$23,991 in forest improvement fees) and Mount John (estimated 24,085 tons with a minimum bid of $19.39/ton, generating ~$467,008 and ~$99,712 in improvement fees).

LUDLOW — The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources is seeking public input on a draft Long-Range Management Plan for Okemo State Forest. The plan will guide future decisions about forest management, wildlife habitat, recreation, and conservation across nearly 8,000 acres of public land. Vermonters are invited to review the proposed management activities in the draft plan and submit comments from October 26 through December 10. An in-person public meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, November 9 at the Ludlow Town Hall to present the draft plan and gather feedback. Situated in the southern Green Mountains, Okemo State Forest covers 7,983 acres across the towns of Andover, Ludlow, Mount Holly, and Weston. It features large blocks of contiguous forests and important recreation opportunities (e.g., Healdville Trail, Buttermilk Falls, Okemo Mountain Resort) and is home to the Terrible Mountain Natural Area. The forest also functions as a critical link in the Southern Vermont Wildlife Corridor, supporting wide-ranging wildlife species, such as black bear, moose, and bobcat. Long-range management plans guide land management on state-owned public lands for a 20-year period, balancing ecological, recreational, cultural, and economic values. A public scoping meeting was held in December 2025 to provide background...

A 30-year forestry experiment in Australia found that heavily thinned mountain ash forests grew unusually large trees while recovering enough carbon to match or exceed untouched areas. The results suggest carefully managed thinning could support timber production, wildlife habitat, and carbon storage at the same time.

Sublette County presented a cross‑jurisdictional fuels-reduction strategy and a $642,000 Wood Innovations grant to expand a local sawmill’s capacity from roughly 5,000 to 7,500 cords and add seven employees, leveraging state and federal forest-health grants.

DNR staff described the FHRA's structure, cumulative distributions to trusts, and additional funding sources used for noncommercial treatments; staff said the account provides flexibility to subsidize marginal or costly forest-health work.

Facilitators and working groups proposed finalizing a consolidated public two‑pager on the mountain pine beetle–fire nexus; task force members asked for minor edits, cross‑agency sign‑off, and an expedited editorial pass so the document can be published and used by members.

County officials said hardwoods downed by Hurricane Helen created increased fuel loads that could raise wildfire intensity for 15+ years; officials cited regional damage ("over 800,000 acres") and said Caldwell County recorded 490 acres of major woodland damage.

Madison County forestry representative briefed the commission on a draft EIS for the Forest Service roadless rule, recommended supporting 'Alternative 3' with fixes, and noted the EIS comment deadline was extended to Oct. 6. He also warned about proposed changes to the travel rule and potential repercussions of shifting fire management out of the Forest Service.

The county voted to submit a comment letter urging rescission of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule in favor of a Montana-specific approach, arguing the rule limits wildfire risk-reduction tools, restricts access across 639,000 acres, and imposes fiscal burdens on the county.

Back in June, #UofStirling PhD researcher Ben Wilson had the pleasure of joining the Royal Scottish Forestry Society on their annual study tour, made possible with their student bursary award. Here'...

The Centre for Forest Protection is a Defra-funded joint venture led by Forest Research and Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, combining the strengths and expertise of each organisation. In addition to state-...